That encore TV dinners, you know, that food in a box, all ready to eat? My old man, he loved them things. Said they were the best thing since sliced bread, and I guess they kinda were. Back in the day, not everyone had them fancy microwaves. We sure didn’t. Took forever to heat up in the oven, but we didn’t mind waiting.
These days, seems like there’s a million kinds of them frozen dinners. Back then, it was simpler. You had your turkey, your meatloaf, maybe some fried chicken if you were lucky. And the Swanson TV dinners, oh boy, those were the real deal. That little aluminum tray, all divided up neat. You got your main thing, your meat or whatever, then some mashed potatoes, maybe some green beans or corn. And a little square of something sweet for dessert.
I remember them classic TV dinners, they had this, like, gravy, you know, all over the meat. It weren’t fancy, but it was good. Filled you up. And on a cold night, watching the TV, it was just the thing. We didn’t have much, but we had that. And it was enough, you know? It was real good then.
Now, they got all these fancy ones. Low fat, low salt, all that. They didn’t have that back in my day, no sir. And the history of TV dinners is probably long. We ate what we had, and we were happy with it. These young folks today, they don’t know how good they got it. Microwave it for two minutes, and boom, dinner’s ready. We used to have to plan ahead. Put that dinner in the oven before the show even started.
Some of them popular TV dinners today are still like the old ones, but most of them try to be all healthy and stuff. That Stouffer’s lasagna, that’s a good one. I see it on the shelf of the freezer, reminds me of the old days. My old man loved lasagna. And that Marie Callender’s, they got that turkey and stuffing one. That’s not too bad either.
- Stouffer’s Lasagna
- Marie Callender’s Turkey
- Hungry-Man dinners
- Libbyland meals for kids
I remember one time, we got these special ones. For kids, they were. Libbyland, they called them. They were popular TV dinners to the kids then. Had little games and stuff on the box. My little brother, he loved them. Thought he was big stuff eating a “grown-up” dinner, even though it was just a little one. They were one of the classic TV dinners.
And the Swanson TV dinners, they had the Hungry-Man ones. Those were for real hungry folks. Double the food, you know. My old man, after a long day working, he’d put away one of those no problem. They put a lot of salt in it, I think. I remember them frozen foods were popular then. All them frozen dinners are convenient for people. They put the food on the belt, and spray some cold stuff on it. Then they put the food in the box.
They say these encore TV dinners are full of fat and salt. Well, yeah, probably. But back then, we didn’t worry about that stuff. We ate what we could afford, and it tasted good. And it was easy. After a long day, easy was good.
I think that is why them frozen dinners are still around. People like easy. They like fast. And they like food that tastes good. Even if it ain’t the healthiest thing in the world, it brings back memories, you know? Memories of simpler times. When families sat around the TV together, eating their dinners on little trays.
I guess them TV dinners are kinda like an old friend. Not perfect, maybe a little rough around the edges, but always there for you. And sometimes, that’s all you need. It is just like my old friend, Mable. She is not perfect, but she is always there when I need her. We used to eat them encore TV dinners together, watching the TV. Good times. Good times.
They still make ’em, you know. The encore TV dinners. Saw ’em at the store just the other day. Might have to pick one up, for old times’ sake. Maybe that turkey one. Or the meatloaf. Yeah, the meatloaf sounds good. Reminds me of my old man. He sure did love his TV dinners. And I guess, in a way, I did too.
