Pizza on Fridays??

I remember we always had Pizza on Fridays, at the time, mother believed we shouldn't eat meat on Fridays. I love to write about memories of life growing up as a baby boomer.

I have pizza on Sunday because it's an excuse not to cook. Apparently, lindasusan, momma didn't put pepperoni on your pizza.
Hey?

We often had meatless Fridays during Lent when I was growing up, but I can say with assurance that we didn't have Friday pizza. Most likely during the 60s my parents would have been going out with friends on Friday nights and we kids would have had something easy for us to prepare, like Dinty Moore stew from a can. (Still have never bought any of that stuff myself, if it even still exists.)

I am absolutely positive that the first time I ever ate pizza was on one of my first dates. It was a double date as my boyfriend and I were too young to drive -- thus we must have been 15 -- so we doubled with his sister and boyfriend, who were a year or so older. My recollection is that we went to Shakey's Pizza and I didn't know what to order, having never eaten pizza before.

So who else remembers Shakey's Pizza? It was an early fast food success story, but I'm not sure if it's still in business. Here's an early Shakey's TV Commerical. There slogan was, "We serve fun at Shakey's - also pizza."

More thoughts on Friday pizza nights:

It seems strange to recall how old I was before I ever ate pizza, as my kids were spending time at pizza places before they were old enough to eat the stuff. When my kids were young, we went out for pizza once a week - usually on a Monday or Tuesday.

Happy Joe's Pizza, which originated in Davenport, IA, where we lived at that time, always had a family night special on Monday nights.

Strangely enough, Joe Whittey, who founded Happy Joe's, was a former Shakey's store manager. Here's a bit more on that story: Happy Joe's Pizza

One of our favorite family stories involves my son's first sign of word recognition -- well before he had been introduced to the alphabet -- and it could only have happened because of our taking him to Happy Joe's on a weekly basis. Here's what happened:

We were dropping him off at daycare one morning, and he made this announcement to our daycare provider, in a totally amazed voice: "It says 'pizza' on your jeans." We all looked at the rear pocket, which he was pointing to, and sure enough, the brand name printed there was "PIZZAZZ."

That's cute! "Pizzazz" I mean!

Growing up Catholic we didn't eat mesat on Fridays either, and ate Pizza or spaghetti, mostly Pizza. I bet there were many others besides us...

OK, I'm asking just so I can understand this concept, because at first blush, it seems foreign to me.

You're saying that in order to comply with the Vatican, you ate pizza or spaghetti with no meat on/in it on Friday nights?

I'm asking only because I find it hard to imagine feeding hungry kids spaghetti with a meatless red sauce, or pizza without sausage...

Times were different then, I guess. After all back then, when it was corn on the cob season, my mother used to feed us a dinner of just corn on the cob. We'd all eat 2-3 ears of corn slathered with butter, and that was it for dinner.

These days, when I mention that to my husband or friends, no one can imagine having the corn without some sort of accompanying protein.

And many of us report having had our share of pancakes only dinners -- though a dinner of pancakes with sausages is much heartier.

Yes Anne, Being raised a Catholic in the 1960s, this is what we were taught; that we could not eat meat on Fridays. So most of the time, it was pizza, sometimes a quick tuna sandwich, etc. That was then.

Strange how different people's customs are. We ate meat on
Friday, except for Good Friday! And I grew up in a God-loving Protestant family! Go figure!

Yeah; that sort of thing is exactly what Catholics used to do. Not eating meat on Fridays was done for penance and to remind people of Christ's crucifixion (Good Friday). You could eat eggs, beans, cheese, even fish. We had fish sticks every Friday, it seemed, but I'm sure had grilled cheese sandwiches and the like as well.

It wasn't a bad deal and served as a regular reminder. It may seem a little wacky now, but when you think about it, eating certain ways due to religious beliefs is a very common practice.

Well as an Episcopalian, we only had meatless Friday meals during Lent. But my mother was more into the fish sticks and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

I have to laugh now, because you'd think she would have had more versatility in her meals since she was a home economist with a specialty in foods and nutrition.

But as I said earlier in this discussion, she never, ever made us pizza. And the only kind of spaghetti she knew how to make was Chef Boyardee in a can -- which is pretty gross compared to the real home made stuff.

I was in college before I ever tasted a taco. And the first time I ever ate lasagna, I was in London (as in the UK).

My mother had a handful of meals that she rotated through, but they were not known for their ethnicity. We'd have meatloaf, homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli in it, roast chicken. And at least once a month we'd have (uugh!) liver and onions, and (yum!) pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions. Also pork chops -- but they were the skinny kind that could be totally consumed in about two bites.

As were many mothers during these times, my mother was the queen of casseroles. A favorite of hers was made with hamburger, green beans and tomato soup -- with mashed potatoes on top.

She also made lamb burgers, which looked just like hamburgers, except made with ground lamb. NOT served on buns, though... They were one of her more special meals.

As with many housewives during the 50s through the 70s, she was quite good at feeding us on a very limited budget.

Who else has memories of dinners - Fridays or otherwise -- when we were growing up?

Even today I still love tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, especially before bed.

One of my favorites, too, Chatty. What is it about tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches together?

Oh, Anne, us too. My parents came from Irish immigrants; plain cooking was about it. My mom did make homemade spaghetti, but we too rotated through the basics: pork chops, beef and mashed potatoes, spaghetti with meat sauce, fried chicken, etc. Sometimes we had breakfast for dinner and that was good, too.

My mom was a good plain cook and my dad was *not* interested in trying anything different. In fact, he was the fussy one --for example, wouldn't try Chinese food until long after I left home. I think that frustrated my mom, who did want to try different things. I have delved into far more foods than I ate growing up -- African, Thai, Indian, etc., but that's the way it was back then.

And, yes, there is something just perfect about a good grilled cheese and tomato soup, especially on a cool day. If we ever get a cool day I'll let you know -- it has been 100+ with no letup since mid-June.

Ellemm, are you in Texas? You mentioned how hot it has been and for how long,and that sounds like what my brother and his family have been enduring in the Dallas area.

It's cooler here in the upper midwest, but at just after 10 PM it is still 80 outside, and humid.

I am SOOO looking forward to Fall! I want some days that are cool enough that I can do some baking without causing the AC to run non-stop!

My grandmother did most of the cooking. Living on a farm, the menfolk wanted meat and potatoes and veggies for lunch and supper. Never had spaghetti, mac and cheese, many noodle dishes. The men worked hard, from early morning until late at night. Dad
ate enough for two men, but then he worked three jobs in his younger days. Loved grandma's pork chops; she cooked most of the meat in one of those cast iron skillets. Grandma's pies. Mom's cakes, left a lasting impression!!! LOL...

The only time we had meatless Fridays was when I was in elementary and high school. The cafeteria cooks would serve fish sticks in case there were Catholic children that observed meatless Fridays. I was raised Lutheran and we ate pretty much anything. We only had to give up "something" like Saturday night dances during Lent.

I never ate pizza until I got out on my own. My mother never fixed pizza or pasta of any kind, when I lived at home. My poor mother was not much of a cook. She did the best she could.

LOL! I use to work at Shakey's pizza about a million years ago it seems like. It was in the late 70's. I think I hate pizza 3 nights a week since I could take home one pizza every night if I wanted. Cheap eating when you are on your own!

So cookie eats pizza! Cute!

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese; now that's comfort food.