As I do when it is cold outside, I tend to cleanout closets. After watching my friend go through her mom’s very full house, I don’t want to leave a mess for my friends so I am going through keepsakes and paring down.
During this week’s cleanout, I came across a bookmark I used every day in the 80’s. It was Garfield the cat. Before Grumpy Cat became a meme and before meme’s were a thing, there was Garfield. I had a lot of Garfield merchandise. He was everywhere! I even had a Garfield doll stuck to my car’s rear window. Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, Odie the dog, and their owner Jon Arbuckle in Muncie, Indiana.
Garfield is an overweight orange tabby cat known for his cynicism, sarcasm, and laziness. He is famous for his love of lasagna and his intense hatred for Mondays and diets.
While Garfield is highly cynical and intelligent, his physical appearance has made him the ultimate mascot for a popular 2025 “orange cat” meme. This viral internet theory is that all orange cats share a single brain cell, leading them to be famously clumsy, lazy, or “glitched”. Modern memes often feature large, lazy orange cats (often called “chonks”) doing things like staring blankly at food or failing at simple physical tasks, directly channeling Garfield’s lethargy and orange-cat aesthetic.
For many 1980s kids, a major ritual was racing to the newspaper for the “funny pages” or lying on the floor reading the long, rectangular compilation books. In November 1982, Garfield collections occupied 7 of the 15 spots on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list simultaneously. The first book, Garfield at Large (1980), remained #1 for two solid years. The 79th book is due out in 2026.
Growing up with Garfield in the 1980s meant experiencing a character at the absolute peak of “Garfield pandemonium,” when the lasagna-loving cat was a dominant global icon of consumer culture. For children of that decade, Garfield was omnipresent—on television, in bookstores, and on almost every conceivable piece of merchandise. By 1981, Garfield had already sold over $15 million in merchandise. Creator Jim Davis intentionally designed Garfield to be the most marketable character ever, leading to an onslaught of products. Garfield appeared on school supplies, mugs, posters, T-shirts, and even branded underwear.
Garfield’s favorite food is lasagna because he was born in Mama Leone’s Italian restaurant kitchen. Although his second favorite food is pizza since it is easier to get delivered. He is a heavy coffee drinker, preferring it strong and caffeinated. He has a major sweet tooth for donuts, pies, ice cream, and pudding. He has a massive appetite but he really hates raisins (he compares them to fly droppings), anchovies, spinach, lettuce, fruitcake, and grapefruit.
If you like Garfield chances are that you value your own comfort as a sacred priority. Garfield the cat appeals to people because he functions as a feline alter ego or “everyman” who shamelessly indulges in human weaknesses like overeating, sleeping, and laziness, which readers can relate to without the associated guilt. Garfield has the courage to say and do things that people wish they could but generally do not. His sarcastic remarks and deadpan charm allow readers to live vicariously through him.
I think a lot of us recognize portions of ourselves in Garfield. If we had someone else feeding us and providing a roof over our head like Garfield does, we would probably be happy to lie around all day, dreaming of lasagna and complaining about Mondays too.
Here are two recipes from the Garfield cookbook from Gooseberry Patch, “Recipes with Cattitude!”. Lasagna of course is one and the other is mocha party cake which combines chocolate and coffee with a sweet creamy frosting.
I think Betsy channels Garfield daily!
Simple Lasagna Casserole (Instructions for Instant Pot and Crock Pot!)
Ingredients
• 16-ounces UNCOOKED whole grain pasta, any shape
• 1-pound cooked hamburger meat
• 50-ounces spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup water
• 16-ounces cottage cheese
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheese (your favorite)
Instructions
Stir uncooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, water, cooked meat, sea salt, and cottage cheese in a crock pot or instant pot. Cook as follows: Crock Pot: Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Instant Pot: Cook on Manual at high pressure for 5 minutes. Once time is up for either Crock Pot or Instant Pot, stir mixture and top with cheese, covering dish so the cheese will melt. Serve!
Mocha Party Cake
Ingredients
• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brewed coffee
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl; set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine coffee, butter, shortening and cocoa. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Slowly stir coffee mixture into flour mixture. Add remaining ingredients except pecans; mix well. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13” x9“ baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until center tests done with a toothpick. Remove from oven; immediately spoon Hot Cocoa Frosting over cake. Sprinkle with pecans.
Hot Cocoa Frosting
Ingredients
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup baking cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons milk
• 16 oz pkg. powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cocoa and milk; bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
