Bologna is a staple in many lunch boxes, but the deli meat has more potential than it lets on. Try one of these delicious ways to use it besides a sandwich.

This time around, the classic bologna sandwich — typically white bread, pre-sliced bologna sausage, American cheese and mustard — has been given an artisanal makeover.

My love of bologna led me one day to try a substitution in the classic breakfast sandwich at Sam’s Deli, getting rid of my usual sage sausage and replacing it with bologna.

Inexpensive bologna is a sponge that — unlike denser, artisanal versions of the sausage — will, much like tofu, take on the flavors of whatever it’s cooked in.

The sandwich first appeared in Cleveland in the mid-20th century, influenced by the area’s Eastern European immigrants who brought kielbasa sausage to the region.

Penne with Smoked Bologna 2 cups whole-grain and fiber penne 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 7 ounces smoked sausage or bologna, sliced into 1/2 -inch pieces, then each piece ...