What was your favorite TV Dinner when you were little?

Swanson's fried chicken and mashed potatoes with corn. I'm Italian and we never had fried chicken. We had roasted chicken or chicken cutlets, but not Southern style fried chicken.

I loved the fried chicken best.

R1 same with me - Italians never made fried chicken !

My favorites were the HoJo 'Mac-n-cheese' or the HoJo 'fried clam dinner'. Tasted just like in the dinners they served in their restaurants.

My mom didn't buy these, but she did buy the pot pies that took 45 minutes to cook.

My high school friend's house had lots of these frozen dinners and I remember being stoned and eating a turkey dinner with the mashed potatoes and cranberry cobbler. That was good.

Salisbury steak an mad mashed potatoes.

^Ok, that a weird autocorrect.

Turkey w mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. I liked Chicken pot pies too.

We didn’t eat tv dinners in my ‘60s/‘70s childhood. But our wealthy neighbors did, so I associated tv dinners with wealth.

Fried chicken. I tried one a couple of years ago and it's not the same. Where's the chicken?

My mother never bought frozen food until I was a junior or senior in high school. In grade school I was always overjoyed when the school cafeteria served these. The breaded, not battered flat ones. Crack to me.

Whichever one has the chocolate brownie.

Some kind of sliced beef that I still think about 50 years later. The sauce tasted winy or something—different.

The fried chicken was also great. Now I'm hungry but I have to go to bed.

Banquet pot pies, turkey or chicken. I still love 'em. Mostly gravy with a small piece of meat and one pea or carrot. LOVED the crust.

Libbyland's TV dinners, which came in "themes" like Pirate's Picnic and Safari Supper.

While the metal tray was heating in the oven, you could do the mazes and word searches on the box. Then the box folded up like this so you could eat with your cartoon friends.

They had five compartments; I think three of them were always corn, tater tots, and chocolate pudding.

I'm sure they were vile. I adored them.

Swanson's Hungry-Man Salisbury Steak Dinner

Banquet Mexican TV dinners. I can't find them now, but I wish I could!

Swanson Salisbury steak was my favorite, but I also liked the fried chicken. I loved the ones with dessert (we didn't eat dessert, usually) I associate these with Saturday nights, because the only time I really had them was when my parents went out and my mom would buy one for me and my grandad who lived with us would cook it for me, then we'd watch Lawrence Welk and Jackie Gleason.

We had Swanson's, Morton's or Hungryman. That's what babysitters fed me when my parents when out on the weekends. Mom would instruct them to make iceberg lettuce salads with thousand island dressing too. I was a young gayling and loved babysitter nights.

They need to bring back the metal trays. I most of frozen meals in the oven. There are some things like lasagna that just come out better that way.

I make* oh dear

There was also the turkey with gravy and stuffing.

By the way, I think it took about a half hour to cook, in the oven.

Le Menu (by swanson). Because I was a fancy little latch key boy in the 1980s

They were all good but I think there was a sweet and sour something that was my favorite

The plates they came on were also super durable Melamine - people still sell them on ebay

I was also a salisbury steak fan as a kid.

I always had a kernel or two of corn that made its way into my brownie and it always pissed me off.

I would sometimes spend the night with my grandma, who was ill and couldn’t cook very well. We often had tv dinners in front of the TV on the TV trays. I thought it was awesome (aside from the corn mixed with the brownie).

R16 - is it this one? I came across it when I was searching for the particular fish sticks I liked.

^ Oh, sorry. I thought you meant a picture. I'm ever so slightly stoned.

But I could swear I've seen them very lately, maybe at the Dollar Tree in the frozen food section.. If it's a discontinued item that's the kind of store they'd wond upvin.

[QUOTE]they'd wond upvin.

Even the soberest judge could have been autocorrected into the hinterlands.

??? No such thing at my Swiss boarding school. I enjoyed the raclette and fondue during during the winter session in Gstaad.

We didn't have these when I was a child, and so I never took to them as an adult. They were overpriced for our budget, and my mother already only allowed two 2 liter bottles of soda in the house per month, outside of birthdays and holidays. So these were looked on a unhealthy garbage, and a waste of money (we were poor, with five people to feed).

That said, my grandmother was diabetic, and kept Crystal Light. I loved the lemonade, but my mother usually didn't allow us to drink it, because of the aspartame it contained.

Presently, I DO enjoy Totino's Pizza Rolls on occasion. But I only ever get the small bag. The go-to used to be the combination version, but now that I've largely cut meat from my diet, I get the plain cheese variety.

Swanson's Loin of Pork TV dinner was actually pretty good.

The pork seemed pretty high quality, and instead of the frozen peas taking up a lot of room, they were a small side. The baked apples were quite delicious. I like fries, but I wondered why they went with those instead of mashed potatos, especially since there was gravy on the pork.

The chopped sirloin in brown gravy with peas, French fries, blueberry muffin. It was good.

They were head and shoulders above most you get today. I bought 4 Marie Callanders on sale a couple months ago…I have to remember to be suspicious of these super sales. They were portioned incorrectly-one had no mashed potatoes, other had a bunch sloshed out before it was boxed…I don’t know how they can sell these, I guess they count on people not bothering to return a 1.75 dinner in this day and age. I bought a box of macaroni at one of these sales which had weevils show up in the boiling water. These were big grocery.

Like a lot of you, I liked the turkey with stuffing, salisbury steak and fried chicken ones the most.

And I always loved the desserts.

There was one TV dinner - probably a hungry man one - that contained a small compartment of soup as well.

I think it had a cover that was supposed to be left on while the dinner cooked, but I remember it always spilling into the next compartments by the time the dinner was done.

I also loved the pot pies and (last but not least) chicken à la king, which came in a pouch and had to be boiled.

Polynesian style

I loved them but was always skeeved out when a few of the peas or green beans ended up in the dessert area.

All those previously mentioned, and Night Hawk dinners too. And in the '80s, Stouffer's made a vegetable lasagna with spinach and white sauce that was excellent.

The apple cobbler and mash potatoes were the bomb ! My 64 year old self would not consume the modern versions however. Too processed and enough sodium to kill 10 people. It's sad when I go to Walmart and I see retired widowers buying cart fulls of this stuff.

R30 What did mother allow you to drink? Just tapwater?

[quote]They were overpriced for our budget

Weren't they like 5 TV dinners for $5 on special? And maybe a .25 more not on sale? I think the Hungry Man versions were more.

We ate these from time to time and my brother and I enjoyed the gimmicky nature of them more than anything else (we were grade schoolers, this was the mid/late 70s). I do remember the food being salty and heavily processed. Everything felt like it was the same consistency. But I was a kid so I liked it.

I think we were probably served these when dad was traveling for business or were being watched by a babysitter. Not only would my father not have liked the quality of the food, but he probably would have thought they were a rip-off.

Fried chicken !!! And what about that cute tiny dessert that was red/pink with the crust . I loved it

[quote]I also loved the pot pies and (last but not least) chicken à la king, which came in a pouch and had to be boiled.

Banquet boil-in-bag chicken à la king was my favorite of all the frozen dinners. Because of various forms of arthritis, I'm finding it hard lately to stand long enough to do a lot of cooking, and I've discovered Stouffer's versions of things, including chicken à la king. It's pretty good, even though my taste in food has improved since the 1960s, and I would have laughed at the idea of eating frozen food up until a year ago.

The Stouffer's dinners are usually $3.99. Sometimes they're on sale. This week, they're 2 for $5.99. So I'm going to go to the store and stock up today or tomorrow.

Salisbury Steak because it was the only avenue to get it!

Banquet enchiladas minus the refried beans and banquet had an Asian cuisine that I really liked. Sweet and sour chicken maybe. I hated Swanson macaroni and cheese. It never microwaved right and it tasted like divorce.

I think I must have had Hungry Man once or twice but in the mid 60s when I was a kid they didn't make them yet. I don't think I ever had one with a brownie but I've seen pics of them.

Thanks OP, I'm like an excited kid reading this thread. My parents never bought frozen meals. It's interesting to see all the different styles. Would any of you eat this food today?

R47, there is a Banquet meal that is just one compartment that's Mexican rice that I will eat in a pinch.

None of my biz but processed food probably will make your arthritis worse.

[quote]Swanson's Hungry-Man Salisbury Steak Dinner

Do they make a Man-Hungry Dinner?

I still keep a stash of three Marie Callender’s White Meat Chicken Pot Pies (10oz) in the freezer for when the mood strikes. Honestly, about three to four times a year.

I always eat at least two (I often make three but only finish two, knowing can eat the third much later that night… sinful!)

I make them in the regular oven only, it’s worth the wait. I have a specific way of eating them that is a delicious ritual. Always satisfying.

Surprised to see all the Salisbury steak lovers on this thread. I think it’s the gravy.

Marie Calendar Turkey Pot pie

Did one have hot pudding?

R54 dat be mama’s pussy

The fish and chips one as pictured in the OP. My brother and I would have them only when my parents were going out somewhere on a Saturday night.

R54 Yes, the Swanson's Swiss Steak dinner had the pudding.

Salisbury Steak.

R8 was the slow kid.

My dad loved Stouffer’s

The Fried Shrimp dinner came with their tangy cocktail sauce.

Le Menu

I don't remember the brands or varieties. I do remember the fun little compartments that required special instructions for pulling back film to expose the dessert (usually some kind of apple crisp or some shit). I can remember as a little kid eating a disgusting turkey dinner that made me violently ill and took me forever to ever eat turkey or stuffing again. It had the "shaved," thin-sliced turkey and dressing with the cubed breadcrumbs. I suspect, looking back, it was a meal someone left in the checkout lane and some high school worker returned to the freezer after several hours.

TMI

About a year ago, just for the hell of it, I bought a Hungry Man "Mexican Fiesta" TV dinner to see if it was anything like the old, retro Swanson's version of Beef Enchiladas. Its my understanding that when Swanson's was broken up, Conagra bought the "Hungry Man" trademark and began selling some of the same dinners under that name.

This ElderGay review of the dinner is both spot on and funny. It really is a tray of CRAP. Whereas I was only able to bring myself to taste one spoonful of each section of the dinner before throwing it out Larry forces himself to eat the whole thing for the review.

I wonder if Larry has visited Datalounge's frozen food threads?

How’s about a Manhandler?!

Enchiladas seem like a good candidate for a frozen dinner.

I remember liking the Mexican frozen tv dinners as a very little kid (late 70s). My standards were low, but the combination of mystery meat enchiladas with cheap greasy chili and melty American cheese and bit of onion seemed good to me at the time.

I also loved the Salisbury Steak, Turkey, and Fried Chicken. I think what I loved most about the fried chicken was that the pieces were kid sized unlike when my Mom would make real fried chicken.

Isn't Tucker Carlson a Swanson heir?

When I was a kid the only chicken I would eat was in the Swanson’s dinner or KFC. I don’t recall y mom ever making actual fried chick in a pan of oil, or whatever.

*my mom

“heir” is a term used loosely these days

I am loving this thread and the pics. 🥰

I never had one (the aluminum foil tray variety) when I was a kid. I didn’t get to try one until I was an adult and they were the microwave kind. These look much better.

Tabby Shit Dinners

Banquet Fried Chicken.

Years ago I bought Maire Callendars single slice pizza. As I started to eat it I noticed that all the cheese hadn't melted. That was because they had shredded a plastic bag with the cheese. I put the slice of pizza in a plastic bag and then in an envelope and mailed it to them. The Owner wrote me an apology letter and how they were going to do better and sent me a bunch of coupons. I would have never bought their product again but because the owner took the time to write me I did.

That brought back memories, R25. Painstakingly turning the dinner this wsy and that to get tge frozen corn kernels back in their compartment. It was a rare, magical day if the dinner came without any stray corn in the brownie.

r77=Carol Channing

Loved these as a kid. I think it was Le Menu that had a surprisingly good Seafood Newburg. I was in JH or early HS at that time. As a kid I loved Gordon's fishsticks too.

R76 I was long dead…

I think it took 45 minutes to cook in the regular oven. This was my Dad's favorite. I would always sneak a tater tot.

Your dad has no taste.

I am cheating as this was not a TV Dinner

Pepperidge Farm Croissant Pizzas.

So so so so so so so so good......

[quote]And what about that cute tiny dessert that was red/pink with the crust.

Didn't one of them have a cherry pie?

Mmm, pie.

Fried shrimp and peas? What an odd combo. You'd think corn would be the most obvious choice.

Chicken pot pies, beef pot pies, whatever. I loved the pot pies. Last time I had a pot pie was in 2012. I was taking care of my mother and she loved them so I fixed some for a special treat. Then she died.

Meatballs and mashed potatoes in the aluminum tray. I loved it!

Later on my mother would buy Budget Gourmet pepper steak, make extra rice and a salad and that was dinner. She was an excellent cook but some nights she needed a break.

Don’t tell Gerg02116! ^ he disapproves of meatballs with polenta, much less potatoes.

I have to wonder what Swanson's did to mashed potatoes to make them taste so good. I have failed repeatedly to duplicate my culinary memories

[quote]Fried shrimp and peas? What an odd combo. You'd think corn would be the most obvious choice.

Miss Channing prefers the corn to be embedded in the brownie.

Salisbury steak and tater tots.

Are you going to Salisbury Fair?

Which seasonings?

R90 Have you tried making instant mashed potatoes? That's what I remember Swanson's tasting like.

I'd probably start with Hungry Jack, since it also became popularized in the 60s. Then, maybe Betty Crocker or Pillsbury. There are other brands that may be regional or sold at particular stores. Idahoan might try to be too 'gourmet' with different kinds ..lol

Swanson's Fried Chicken one - yesssss. :)

Also as an aside, I loved the Weaver's Frozen Fried Chicken Assorted Pieces box -- all chicken meat wings, breast, thighs meet dumped in one box -- and got to have that broiling in the oven to pick from for dinner with sides of mash potatoes or stuffing when my parents went out on a Saturday night. (Not the puffy plain-battered version, though!) And also Willow Tree Chicken Pot Pie, made with delicious thick gravy, all white large chicken pieces, and no annoying vegetables (another chance to add my own great sides).

^meat, not meet -- sorry!

R94 Idahoan has plain mashed potatoes also

The individual e.g. Idaho brand instant microwaveable mashed potatoes they make nowadays actually taste much better than those in the past, including in the Swanson's TV dinner varieties. You just add water (or milk, if preferred) to the inner-container dotted line, stir, nuke for exactly 1 minute, and there ya go.

[quote]Weren't they like 5 TV dinners for $5 on special?

I remember my mom saying that they were expensive, and that was in the 80s.

I don’t remember my mother buying those or maybe I buried the memory. I do remember her buying frozen pot pies once in awhile and the only thing I liked about them was the crust.

R14 - I also loved LibbyLand - Where Food is Fun TV Dinners. In the early 70s my dad was in grad school while still working full time -- he wouldn't come home until quiet late on Wednesdays, so that was our night for TV dinners and generally acting silly around the table.

I got the frozen the fried chicken in a box a few times when I was young and first having to cook for myself. I don’t think it was very good and I wonder now why I didn’t just go to KFC for it. I haven’t thought about that product in years and they apparently still make it.

Making fried chicken from scratch was a thing in my family in the 70s (the chicken’s got a certain….Wessonality). I don’t think my mother has attempted to make it since about 1980.

Cleaning up well after frying chicken takes MUCH more time than actual the actual preparation and frying time. The grease spatter mess on the floor, stove and surrounding walls, everywhere takes much more time to return to a properly clean and non-slip safe environment.

No wonder 70s moms returning to the workforce relied on a dependable frozen alternative that lots didn't see cooked in their own homes.

[quote]The grease spatter mess on the floor, stove and surrounding walls, everywhere takes much more time to return to a properly clean and non-slip safe environment.

Did the Fry Daddy help with that at all? I remember my mom got one but I don't think she used it too often.

R104 - My mother was strictly cast iron skillet from the old country. I don't know if gadgets like home deep fryers were/are used much outside of Southern culture where so much food is fried. Or if they're even that easy to clean and maintain to keep the grease from getting stinky or going bad on your kitchen counter.

Swanson fried chicken was the best, always on a Saturday night! I lived on Gino's frozen pizza in grad school. They were 99 cents each.

I'm addicted to microwaving Green Giant Idaho Golden potatoes. Wash a few, microwave for 5 minutes or so, mash them up, salt, pepper, butter...heaven. You might like to try that, R98. I'm sure it's cheaper and definitely healthier.

No Wesson oil! In fact no oil! When you fry chicken you got to use Crisco. Crisco is the only thing to use to fry chicken.

Banquet Mexican-Style Dinners!

"Featureman" is an older gentleman, living in what looks like modest circumstances, eating TV dinner and other convenience foods.

Apparently, he worked in Hollywood (acting, extra) when he was younger.

I really don't know how his body can handle all the crap he eats.

Along with many of you, I liked the fried chicken, salisbury steak, and turkey and stuffing Swanson dinners. One I remember well was a chicken parmigiana dinner that had wide Italian green beans and pasta. Don't remember who made that one but I loved it.

Le Menu chicken parmigiana! A fat whore never forgets!

R111 thank you! That's it! So good. I wonder why they can't make this quality of frozen dinner now?

Frying chicken? Forget it!

It's Shake'n'Bake!

Exactly R113 - my Italian mom usually made chicken soup, but would occasionally do Shake 'n Bake. She would also bread and fry chicken cutlets, but she never once made KFC like fried chicken.

Mine too R114! My mom actually did make me Fried Chicken ONCE- but that was it. It was strictly Shake and Bake.

We had TV dinners on Sat nights when the parents went out. If we were lucky we got a pot pie on the side. My brother played butler and set everything up on trays in front of the TV.

I am very thankful to be able to say I never, in my entire 70 years, have had a "TV Dinner".

^ Well, get her!

R61

I would assume the cocktail sauce would get super hot after being in the oven so long

Other than fried chicken of course, my favorite would’ve been the roast beef and turkey dinners

R117 breaks into Retirement Homes and sniffs old lady diapers.

EAT SHIT R117!!!

R117 -- Did you ever slum in the land of Jiffy Pop?

As much fun to make as it is to eat!!

Yeah, of course, but if you have it now it's so salty! I loved Jiffy Pop though.

R119 There was a version of the Shrimp TV Dinner where Swanson put the cocktail sauce in a small aluminum cup of its own, which you removed before putting the meal in the oven. It was supposed to defrost during the time the meal was cooking (approx. 35 minutes w/ oven pre-heat time). Which version came first, I don't know.

Serious question: Were "TV dinners" better or worse tasting back then? I know the variety didn't exist, but let's say something basic like meatloaf or fish and chips.

Yes, I did have Jiffy Pop at a friend's house once. His idiot mother left it on the burner way too long and burned the hell out of it. It was inedible. I didn't have home popped popcorn again until microwave popcorn came out. I make that quite often.

R124, the old tv dinners were Probably better than the frozen meals of today. I remember the pot pie crust being good. My mom made good homemade crusts, so I did have a point of reference.

My mom did make fried chicken. Shallow-fried. It was good. Put some flour, salt, and pepper in a bag with the chicken and shake.

I like slightly burnt popcorn.

I'm in awe of people who sell what's basically trash like the link at r108. Are there deliberate trash collectors out there to provide a market for them? Do they actually make money?

It reminds me of a luxury goods shopping bag craze over a decade ago. I began to see Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Prada, Bottega Veneta, etc shopping bags at thrift stores and they weren't exactly cheap.

I hated shake and bake chicken as a kid.

I didn't like shake and bake, either. Chicken or port chops. Neither did the folks, they only bought it once or twice.

pork

Libbyland TV dinners for kids were mentioned way back at R14. They came with a packet of powder flavoring to mix into your milk. I remember one of the the dinners had a root beer flavor for the milk. I think I begged my mom to buy that one because I thought root beer flavored milk sounded delicious.

It was the most vile thing I ever put into my 7-year old mouth. And I probably ate a booger or something once.

TMI...