The idea of school lunches evokes a pleasant thought for me. I grew up in the era of real lunchroom ladies who cooked meals from scratch. They arrived at school before the chickens were up and started cooking. Wonderful aromas wafted throughout the school letting your lucky nose and sense of smell give clues about what might be in store at lunchtime. I’m sure menus went home, but I don’t remember that. It seems to me I would just wait to catch the drifting aromas and figure out the day’s lunch. I never brought my lunch from home so whatever the lunchroom ladies had in store would take up residence in my gullet, sooner or later.
School Lunchroom Hamburger Soup with Saltines
School Lunchroom Rolls were a big hit with almost everyone. That fresh-baked yeasty roll would make you weak in the knees it was so good.
Anyone who was lucky enough to eat in a school lunchroom during the era, probably had Hamburger Soup. Ahhh…..Hamburger Soup. I remember it well. It was often served with a cheese sandwich, not grilled cheese but cold cheese, or peanut butter balls. The soup had plenty of protein making the addition of another protein interesting.
To this day, a bowl of soup and a glass of milk is one of my favorite things in the whole big world. God bless Lunchroom Ladies, where ever they may be.
Y’all come see us!
School Lunchroom Hamburger Soup
yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ground hamburger meat joins lots of good vegetables for a soul-warming, gullet-pleasing, uncomplicated, big ‘ol bowl of soup.
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks celery, diced
2 onions, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 to 4 clove garlic, minced
3 pounds ground beef (85/15)
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 quart stock
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 cups whole kernel corn, fresh, frozen or canned
1 (15 oz.) can LeSuer very young small sweet peas, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Heat large soup pot and add olive oil. Sauté carrots, celery and onions for 10 minutes or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Throw ground beef on top of all those beautiful vegetables and cook the meat until pink is gone. Don’t you dare drain away all that good juice after the meat is cooked. There’s very little fat in 85/15 ground beef. What little bit is there is going to add flavor.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
Add bay leaves. Return to simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and add corn and peas. Stir. Cover and cook 15 minutes.
Taste for seasoning and adjust.
Ladle in soup bowls. For Cheeseburger Soup, add grated cheese to each bowl.
Elizabeth K says
Sounds good!!!
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Sue, a Florida Farm Girl says
Oh, yes! I loved that hamburger soup!!! Even now I pattern my own version of that soup after what I remember Ms. Edna Mae cooking in the lunchroom. And, it is good.
Jackie Garvin says
Sue,
I made this soup up as I remembered it, too. I got pretty darn close, if I do say so myself! Were you served cheese sandwiches or peanut butter balls with yours?
Connie says
Remember this soup well! LOVED IT!! We had peanut butter sandwiches with it and usually a sugar cookie.
Jackie Garvin says
Connie,
I remember peanut butter sandwiches and sugar cookies, too!
Eva says
YES! the peanut butter sandwich! I have told people about this and they look at me like I’m crazy!
It was one of my favorite meals in grade school – when the lunch ladies actually cooked!
Jackie Garvin says
Eva,
Those were the good ol’ days. Not many kids look forward to school lunchroom food these days.
Jennifer Roe says
Hi,
This recipe sounds hearty and filling. I love soups like this! I am in my late 20’s and spent my early years of elementary school in a VERY small Midwestern town.The lunch ladies there were so awesome! Not only were they such sweet ladies, but they made amazing food! Best cafeteria food hands-down! I loved their soups, hot rolls, chili pie and desserts…good memories!
Jennifer
Jackie Garvin says
Jennifer,
My husband and I ate this soup for three days! I’m making up another batch soon to freeze.
I love hearing about your fondness for lunchroom ladies. The ones I remember were just spectacular. 🙂
Kittie Reibson says
I loved our lunch ladies. The one I remember most fondly was Tina. Our cafeteria was named Tina’s Luncheonette. She had box lunches and hot food every day. She was a great cook and the sweetest lady. Later in high school, our cafeteria had these peanut butter bars that were to die for. I went back after I had graduated and managed to charm the recipe from one of them. Of course I had to do a lot of math since it was in serious amounts of flour, sugar etc. but I got it figured out and nearly 40 years later I am making them for my granddaughter.
Jackie Garvin says
Kittie,
The lunchroom ladies from our era were so sweet and nurturing. I’m not so sure our children and grandchildren have the same memories.
Jean says
Jackie it seemed those cooks were the best! The yeast rolls and the peanut butter candy was always a hit. I love that soup!!
Jackie Garvin says
Jean,
They were great cooks, no doubt about that! And, just as importantly, they were sweet ladies. 🙂
Adam J. Holland says
I wrote about cafeteria ladies about a year ago. My memories are fond, because of recipes like the one you’ve posted.
Jackie Garvin says
Adam,
Thanks for stopping by! Lunchroom ladies have a pretty large fan base. I remember thinking about schoollunch before the day even got started. Good memories. 🙂
Virginia G. says
My mother-in-law made this kind of soup, she used canned mixed veg. and called it poor mans stew. She had seven children to raise, and was very good cook.
Jackie Garvin says
Virginia,
There was a time when ground beef was cheap but not so much anymore.
Mary Raymundo says
One of my favorite memories was the smell of food when I entered the cafeteria. I always enjoyed my lunch there. Mac & Cheese, Soup, Tomato Sandwiches, It was all good.
Jackie Garvin says
Mary,
Lunches were good then. They are so different now. I can’t,for the life of me,see how it’s more economical to serve pre made food including pizza, cheese sticks, sandwiches, etc., than making simple food from scratch. It seems to me they offer too many choices in one day which drives up their cost. I don’t know about you, but our only choice was to eat or not to eat.
Danny Taylor says
Perfect winter time soup….gonna try this one this weekend!! Thanks Jackie!!
Jackie Garvin says
I hope you enjoy it, Danny! Happy New Year!
Sherry says
God bless you for posting your memory. You see, my grandmother was one of those sweet lunchroom ladies at my elementary school when I was a child. Her responsibility was baking those heavenly yeast rolls, biscuits, cornbread, and the desserts! Yes, I always got a little extra dessert serving! My grandma often made a batch of those melt in your mouth yeast rolls for family gatherings! Glad to have this recipe and will be trying it soon.
Jackie Garvin says
Sherry,
God bless your Grandmother! She touched the heart, soul and stomach of countless number of students. If only school lunch rooms were run the same today…..
Stephanie says
This is the type of vegetable soup my grandma used to make. Took me forever to perfect my own version after she passed. I’ve found the key to be freezing my leftover veggies and saving it for the soup.
Jackie Garvin says
Stephanie,
How smart and frugal of you! I keep a bag in my freezer of leftover veggies and keep adding to it until I have enough for soup. The seasoned leftover veggies add more flavor to the soup, too!
Carol Tyler says
I remember my school serving this with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and it was so good together! Our lunchroom ladies also made the homeade yeast rolls and homeade yeast cinnamon rolls with real butter and lots of cinnamon and sugar on the bottoms….wonderful cooks!
Jackie Garvin says
Carol,
Nobody bakes like lunchroom ladies bake! 🙂
Joy (Yesterfood) says
Yes, the lunchroom ladies were the BEST! I remember the homemade pizza, peanut butter cookies, and hot homemade yeast rolls! This Hamburger Soup sounds So. Good. 🙂
Happy New Year! ~Joy from Yesterfood
Jackie Garvin says
Happy New Year, Joy!! 🙂
Sharla Richardson says
Yes, our school lunches were great… You could smell the yeast rolls all morning in the hallways… Today’s school lunches are shameful… My three sons rarely bought and my last son at home – well if he is having a problem occassionally being nice in the mornings, I will just tell him he is buying his lunch that day as a mouth reminder sure gets my point across – ha…
Jackie Garvin says
HA!!!!! You punish your child with school lunches. That just a strong argument for just how bad they are. 🙂
Charlotte Rhubottom says
Did anyone ever have peanut butter sandwiches w/ grapes on them? I think that is what they served us. It doesnt sound good but it was. Yeast rolls and peanut butter cake w/ peanut butter glaze was my favorites!!
Jackie Garvin says
Charlotte,
What a clever idea to out grapes on a peanut butter sandwich! I remember peanut butter cake, too! And peanut butter balls. We had peanut butter quite a bit because it was a commodity. If you remember, prior to food stamps, the government doled out commodities such as peanut butter, cheese and butter. You never heard of anyone with peanut allergies, either. Just have to wonder why it’s so prevalent today.
Alisha Jett Christian says
Where I’m from, in West GA, we call this Hamburger Stew and we eat it over or with cornbread (NOT the sweet kind!). 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Alisha,
I like to eat Brunswick Stew over buttermilk cornbread, no sugar, :).
jane says
I wasnt blessed with cafeteria food until HS and then i thought i had died and gone to heaven…spicy spaghetti hot dinner rolls… and such delicious cookies and such.. everything homemade back then nothing packaged… i loved all the foods… i worked in cafeteria so i got free lunch… i am 67 yrs old but i will never forget those kind ladies and the wonderful food they fixed for us….we lived out west but we had a hurricane and school was locked down and they fixed us tomato soup and grill cheese sandwiches …that was the best dinner i ever ate… LOL… no one got hurt in our storm but i rode the bus 21 miles one way and I had to wait until the roads were cleared to go home…when i got to my town it was lifeless..i called the operator but she couldnt call my parents so she got a cop to take me home… lil more than soup info but i thought you might enjoy it…
Jackie Garvin says
Jane,
Such a heart rendering story. It certainly was a different time back then.
jane says
there used to be a soup …called….AMERICAN POTAGE….it was a simple cheap hamburger soup… do any of you remember that soup….if you do…would you share your recipe i lost mine years ago
Jackie Garvin says
Hi Jane! I don’t know about this soup. However, I googled “American Potage” and found several versions. You might try doing that to see if any of the versions looks like what you remember.
jane says
THANK YOU I WILL LOOK AT THEM…
Sandy says
I have made hamburger soup for years. Very much the same except no worcestershire sauce and I add peeled diced potatoes and I use frozen mixed veggies, The whole family loves it. My mother always ordered this for lunch at a restaurant called Shoney’s in PA, back in the 60’s.
Jackie Garvin says
Sandy,
It’s one of my favorites! I remember Shoney’s and I think they’re still around.
Laura says
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. I have it in the crock pot now. Looks delicious. I am currently working as a lunch lady at a primary school. I admit we do a lot of pre made food now which is surely different than years back. A lot of quality does suffer for it as well. We would love to be able to cook food as used to be done but they have had so many budget cuts that we just don’t have the staff to be able to.
Jackie Garvin says
Laura,
God bless school lunchroom workers everywhere! You do the very best you can under challenging circumstances to provide a nourishing meal to our children. More than the meal itself, you are a warm smile and friendly face. 🙂