A TV dinner that's really good (?!)

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The booklet that came with my mom's Sunbeam electric skillet had a method for preparing a TV dinner.  They suggested making little balls out of aluminum foil or using a suitably sized rack that would fit into the skillet so that the TV dinner did not rest directly on the bottom of the pan and then place the  dinner on that and cook it. I do not have the temperature and time involved, but it sure heated up the kitchen less than an oven.  It would not work for dinners with stuff that needed crisping.
 
One of the fun things about this site over the years has been getting to read vintage appliance owners’ manuals. There was one for an electric skillet, maybe a Sunbeam, that had all kinds of unexpected (to me) uses, such as baking potatoes and even a pineapple upside down cake. Kind of mean to try that one day, which is not to say I ever will.
 
Boston Market (brand) Carver's Cuts Pulled Pork

Must only be available in limited areas.  Checked the website and not available anywhere near me...

 

Thought it might be a good dinner for a cousin that does not cook much, but no go.  I cook every night, not sure why some find it so difficult - and I use no prepared food or packaged foods.
 
rare treat

I haven't eaten a TV dinner is so many years I can't remember when. My mother would buy them as a treat, usually on a Friday night and was allowed to eat in the living room off a TV tray and watch TV. I don't ever recall my mother serving them to my father and doubt he ever ate one for that matter. Anyway they were cool to a kid back in the day. The other thing was Jiffy pop popcorn..Mom would buy it as a rare treat too. I was shopping the Big Lots last week and they had JP for 2 bucks...threw 2 in my buggy...saving them for a special occasion...lol!!
 
I was a latchkey kid so I ate a lot of microwave foods in the early 80s.  That was a time when microwaves were just becoming mainstream so there were a lot of microwave foods coming out.  Some were good, some were terrible.

 

One thing that stands out in my mind as being good were these microwave blueberry pancakes.  I cannot remember the brand but inside the large package there were small individual generic white boxes each containing a serving of pancakes.  You would microwave them in the box and then tear open a pull tab around the top to get at them.

 

They were loaded with some kind of buttery blueberry syrup/sauce and there was no need to add anything else.
 
Well, instead of eating pulled pork this week, forced by Kroger's wayward middle management to eat my words, "will buy again". 

 

Not at Kroger I won't.  In the ensuing week, the product has been discontinued by the chain.  Shelves shuffled, the tag for it gone, manager confirmed.  That makes THIRTY-something products, some of which I had bought for years (like Comet cleanser), that Kroger has discontinued in the past 3 years.

 

All the customers-- and employees!-- I talk with say the same thing.  The store has nothing to say about it, according to local management who just shrugs.  I used to rave about Kroger.  As in, why would anyone shop anywhere else.  My parting words today were grumbled, "I hate this store".

 

There is an Albertsons about the same distance in the other direction, but their prices are substantially higher across the board AND there's a particularly gnarly interstate crossing between me and them.  (All TX hwy crossings are like that.)  I'll try Fiesta but not much faith in their house brands whereas Kroger's are very good.

 

Wallyworld is not an alternative; Kroger is actually copying them in an attempt to compete.  HEB, HQ'd in San Antonio and serving Houston and Austin, beats Wallyworld for market share.  And they don't by gawd do it by discontinuing merchandise.  They have their eye on DFW.  I should live so long, and I have to eat tomorrow.
 
Rich

I feel your pain! I hate grocery shopping! For 40 years I primarily shopped at Safeway, for the last 2 years I stayed with them because I liked the people that worked there so much, but the selection and quality was declining, especially the quality of the produce.

About 2 1/2 years ago I started grocery shopping at Target, and I’ve been very happy with them for the most part. The selection isn’t as large as Safeway in the meat and produce depts., but what they do have is excellent to very good quality, the produce is always very fresh, and their extra lean ground beef and boneless pork chops are some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Their store brands are also at least as good as the name brand, or better, and I buy them almost exclusively. And using my Target Red debit card I save 5% off of the already reasonable prices.

And best of all, with my list in hand I can get in and out of there in about 25 mins for a weeks worth of groceries for both of us. If there is a Target located near you, and you haven’t already tried it out for groceries, give it a try, you may like it.

Eddie
 
Thanks Eddie.  Awkward location here, TarJay is also on the other side of I-30.  Sub-prime real estate, even BurgerKing moved away.  Looks like Kro is still going to be the practical source of bulk commodities.

 

Finding discontinued stuff (Comet, Pepsodent, more) at Family Dollar.  It's even closer.
 
It sure seems like Kroger discontinues a product once I get used to buying it there. I always bought New York Texas Toast Lite Garlic Bread there. A year or so ago they stopped having it, so now I go to Meijer for that. They also quit selling Sechler's Sweet Relish at Kroger, so now I have to go to Jungle Jim's for it.

Depending on what I'm looking for, I may visit Kroger, Meijer, Target, GFS, IGA, or Jungle Jim's. Occasionally I even set foot in Wal-Mart.
 
Guilty as charged....

I don't mind cooking but for dietary reasons I prefer size-limited microwaveable meals, like Lean Cuisine, Safeway Select, Stouffer's, etc. At least for lunch and often for breakfast. I'm currently doing a very low carb thing, and these meals, by listing the carb content, allow one to keep the carbs limited while still getting enough protein and veggies. Of course, the pasta and rice dishes are out. However I have some older stuff stashed in the freezer so I wind up eating around the carbs.

 

The incipient Northern California electricity shutdown (due in my town in about an hour) will mean I won't be able to nuke stuff for the duration. It will mean going to canned fare, or thawing out stuff like frozen steaks/chickens and cooking them with gas or propane.

 

As far as TV dinners go, the Hungry Man line has a decent enough "Classic" Fried Chicken selection. Although it's usually priced higher than their other offerings, probably because it's so popular.

 

As far as supermarkets go... out here some years ago the main two selections were Lucky and Safeway. About 10 years or so ago, Albertson's bought out Lucky. Then in the last couple of years, Albertson's also bought out Safeway. However the two stores in my area seem to have retained some individuality. Albertson's is owned by Cerberus, of Dan Quayle fame (yeech), out of Boise, Idaho.

 

For dietary reasons I eat a lot of salads as well, along with various fresh veggies (steamed or stir fried on cooktop). Most of my fresh veggie purchases are at a local Mexican grocery - Cardenas. Which, I understand, has a lot of stores all over California. My only complaint about them is that sometimes the quality on heavily discounted stuff (like fruit) is lacking - like mushy peaches and apples. And sometimes they advertise a special and don't yet it have it in stock on the advertised start date.

 

I'll watch the sales flyers and stock up on chicken, steak, and frozen entrees when the price is right. So my freezer is fully stocked now. Not to worry, I have a small generator to plug it into should the power outage last more than a day or two.

 

Welll I better post this before the power goes out. When it's all said and done. I'll vent about PG&E in the appropriate venue.

 
 
I plan our meals for a week in advance, make a list, always have a backup on hand of any staple item we use, and when the backup is pulled off the shelf, this item goes on weekly shopping list. I cook everything from scratch, even bake all of our bread and make all of our salad dressing. I use very little prepared food, but I do like canned beans for convenience. We always have a large salad with dinner with a variety of fresh vegetables, and we eat plenty of fresh fruit. I do use some frozen vegetables and I have a fondness for Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns, much better than Tater Tots, but thats about the extent of packaged food.

When I shop I move systematically through the store, and seldom deviate from my list, unless some special catches my eye and its something I know we will use. And we never throw away food.

Since I was aware of the impending power shutoffs I purposely used up almost all the frozen meat and perishables. Also, we froze water bottles and made lots of ice to keep things cold during any outage. The last info from PGE shows that we JUST escape the areas that are having their power shut off. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we keep our power on. And don’t get me started on what I think of PGE, my head will explode.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 10/9/2019-14:00]
 
All around, as the Brazilans might say, "voce nao vai querer eu chegue no final"

Nah, as a Brazilian and from Iguassu, If I were in Fort Worth, I'd say Why have a Microwave or even a range in the kitchen If there's a Rafain Steakhouse?

Well, not anymore in Fort Worth as it closed after the manager stole over 1 million dollars and they ended up evicted from that nice location, but the Dallas branch is open. It's worth the drive (Dallas Pkwy and Frankfort, right next to Wells Fargo and Extended Stay America)

It's the steakhouse that comes closest to the real Brazilian "churrasco". Stay away from Texas de Brazil (gosh, that's horrible) and Fogo de Chão (even worse, absurdly expensive and NOTHING to do with Brazil).

And as a tradition in a REAL brazilian steakhouse, the guests walk in and roll out, feeling sick and saying "OMG, I'll never eat that much again in my life." Next week we repeat exactly the same thing and say exactly the same thing.

Don't forget to eat the roasted pineapple. it helps minimizing the bloating.
 

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