More Luscious than ever!

[appnut]

We may have had TV dinners, but it was an extreme rarity.  I do remember my mom attemtping to get us to eat the checkn & turky pot pies.  I was the one who balked at them. I just didn't like them and to this day, I don't like "pot pies" uness it's home made and I prefer the crust to be biscuits instea of pie crust.  It may have been just too "soupy" for my taste.  I remember the only other "frozen" packaged anything, that wasn't a dessert, was Stouffers Spinache Souffle.  That became quite a semi-regular around our house.  For my mom, an easy dinner, when my dad had a business dinner, it was creame of asparagus soup and grilled cheese sandwitches.  I have to admit, as I look back on it, as my mom began to slow down in her late 50s and early 60s, she'd even use one of those Sams large family dinners as something she'd serve, even company.  I nearly passed out when I saw the carton in the trash. 

 

[bugsyjones]

Swanson TV Dinners

I'm far too young to remember a foil package. I'm from the microwave generation.

However, I do enjoy all things vintage including vintage TV dinners.

I found an advert for Swanson Three Course Dinners. I framed it for the kitchen. You get Campbell's Tomato soup, beef entree, vegetable, hashbrown potatoes, and crisp dessert.

I don't know how well soup worked out, but it's interesting, none the less. I would guess that it's a later 1960's innovation.

~Tim

 

[danmantn]

The logo on the pat of butter is a nice touch in the ad.

 

[appnut]

Ken, thanks for ressurecting those.  We had a set of metal TV trays (pretty sure they came from redeemed trading stamps books).  They got used a lot more in the winter when my dad would put a fire in the fireplace, so we'd eat dinner in the den to enjoy the fireplace.  My parents gave me a nice set of wooden ones for my birthday or Christmas not too soon after I bought my current house in 1986.  they've been used some, but they're in the entry hall closet just in case.

 

[rp2813]

Nice TV trays and caddy!  I saw a single tray like that in beautiful shape with black background at a junk store recently but sadly, its legs had disappeared so I passed on it.

 

So, does everybody still refer to these as "TV" dinners, or are later generations just calling them "frozen" dinners?  I hope the term "TV Dinner" continues to be the terminology of choice for a long time to come despite the tendency to use it in a derogatory context.  After all, you're paying for the view.  The food is secondary.

 

[washernoob]

It is fun seeing these. Back when TV dinners were a treat. For me, growing up, we lived off of them!

When we were younger, we lived in a neighborhood near the projects in omaha. Our main staple food was TV dinners, kool-aid, and on that special occasion my mom made Tuna/chicken/hamburger helper.

We sometimes joke about it, but we literally did grow up on those. Glad we are past that.

We had wooden TV trays and would eat all our meals in the living room if we were good!

 

[austinado16]

Not liking pot pies? Them's fightin' words!

Pot pies were great back then. We used to have a contest to see who could flip theirs over on their plate, and remove the aluminum pan without breaking the pie. Then, if you were really good, you could even turn the pie back upright.

Those things were great!

 

[whirlcool]

Advances in TV Dinner Technology

When microwave ovens first came out these aluminum trays became a problem.
Some microwaves would tolerate them IF you put the tray back in the box after removing the aluminum foil that covered the tray before heating them. Our Litton microwave could do that. If you didn't it was spark city!

Next, the makers of TV dinners came out with these white plastic trays for their microwaved dinners that were microwave safe. But they weren't around too long before we ended up with the cardboard/plastic we have today.

And remember, "they" are warning us not to heat our food in these trays as they can off gas toxic chemicals while being heated. Always move the food to a microwavable plate before heating.

And now we have the dinners that just sit on the unrefrigerated grocery shelves that are packed in nitrogen and they are even self heating! I haven't seen one of those in awhile. Wasn't it Armour that had those? I never did trust meat products that were unrefrigerated.

 

[sudsmaster]

I remember the aluminum tray TV dinners, but we didn't have them very often. I think my Mom felt they were too expensive and she could make stuff from scratch for a lot less.

We also had the occasional chicken pot pie. I didn't mind them, and even today I like the Marie Callender version. Microwaveable, of course.

I recall the TV dinners still being packaged in aluminum trays into the 70's. Then as microwaves became more common they switched to plastic at some point.

Can't say I care much for the "dessert" brownies that come with the dinners.

I also remember when airline food was actually pretty good. That, again, was in the 60's and 70's. By the 90's it had deteriorated considerably. And now you're lucky if you get a bag of stale peanuts and half a tepid coke.

 

[DADoES]

 

I do remember LibbyLand dinners.

 

[mattl]

I remember those dinners, but I also remember the Swanson dinners that that had the desert in the middle. One was a brownie like cake, there were others, anyone remember those?

Oh, hey, just found a picture online...

 

[hydralique]

Dessert . . .

Ever notice how some of that dessert always slopped over into the mashed potatoes and peas and some of the peas always ended up in the dessert?

 

[cleanteamofny]

My goodness, this is showing my age!
Swanson Turkey was great and the chicken was OK, but man how I loved the Salisbury steak!

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[polkanut]

I think growing up we had tv dinners probably no more than twice that I can remember.  When I was a kid we shared a garden with my grandma, and we usually bought a 1/2 of beef every fall.  Meat & veggies were always on hand, so Mom usually cooked from scratch.

 

[norgeway]

SWANSON!

Was the best, I remember the apple cranberry thing!! It was great!!

 

[112561]

Robert

Now I'm thinking in addition to Libbyland dinners, there was another one which used Warner Brothers characters. In Publix, there is still some children's dinner in a turquoise microwavable tray. I'll look for one next time I'm in there.

 

[bajaespuma]

Need to watch "Avalon" again

I remember Libbyland dinners. But just barely; they didn't last long. Libby's made great canned fruit.

I used to love the Swanson's turkey dinner with that nice pad of stuffing under the turkey. Must have made my poor Mother cringe.

 

There was most probably nothing wrong with those first TV dinners; aside from chemical additives that we don't know about, decent nutrition and, most importantly, a long forgotten American vintage rarity: a realistic portion size. Thinking about this because I went out with some friends last night to an "all-you-can-eat" Sushi restaurant and still feel bloated. I love my friends but some of them eat too damn much.

 

[booandsue]

Libbyland dinners

Yes Robert, there were Libbyland dinners with sort of a cartoonish package geared for the finicky child, and also there was Lipton Giggle Noodle Soup. My youngest brother practically lived on this stuff, or sometimes Franco American spaghettio's. Each meal for him ended with a Devil Dog for dessert.

 

[danmantn]

You know, this thread got me to thinking...and I confirmed with my sister.  We never had a frozen dinner growing up (70s).  I need to ask my mom why...of course she fixed all our meals is maybe why.  Knowing her, she probably thought they were too expensive, etc.  My younger brothers and sisters were exposed to frozen pizza a lot - by that point she was working.  I guess that was a big influence.

 

[lordkenmore]

I only sometimes saw TV dinners growing up. They only appeared at lunch. The TV dinner was always the same--a Mexican dinner. I have no idea why there wasn't any variety here. One guess is that when my family went to restaurants regularly, my favorite was a Mexican. The thing I wonder about now about these dinners is that I recall them having some sort of hot sauce in the middle small compartment. I'd have to think that would be acidic, and would react with the aluminum tray (which was still in use).

I saw a lot more of frozen dinners in more recent years. Actually, too much. Living alone, it's hard working up enthusiasm for cooking. I think I've even had frozen turkey dinners on Thanksgiving.

These days, I'm trying to stay away from convenience products of any sort (canned, frozen, boxed). It's still hard working up enthusiasm for cooking, although it helps making stuff that's quick and easy to assemble. But, regardless of enthusiasm, I am concerned about the long term effects of eating convenience products, given that they are often loaded with everything from salt to chemicals whose names I cannot even pronounce.