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9 Old-School TV Dinners You Completely Forgot About

Welcome to the intersection of nostalgia and disgust.

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Overhead image of a TV dinner on a wood table
hillwoman2//Getty Images

If you don't go a week without popping a frozen dinner in the microwave, thank your lucky stars you weren't born in the '50s. That's when TV dinners were first popularized, and the vintage heat-and-eat meals looked nothing like the 'grammable frozen meals Trader Joe's churns out today. Here's a look back at some of the classic platters you might have forgotten.

1

Swanson English Style Fish 'n' Chips

Food, Cuisine, Dish, Fast food, Ingredient, Comfort food, Recipe, Breakfast, Junk food, Fried food,
Swanson

In the '70s, Swanson debuted an International line. It's just ... can someone explain how the English-style Fish 'n' Chips differs from American fish filets?

2

Night Hawk Steak 'n Taters

Dish, Food, Cuisine, Flat iron steak, Steak, Sirloin steak, Ingredient, Roast beef, Delmonico steak, Pork chop,
Night Hawk

It's nice to know that some things in life never change — like Night Hawk's charbroiled chopped beef with "potato rounds." Decades after its debut, it's still around ... with better packaging.

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3

Banquet Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

Food, Ingredient, Cuisine, Natural foods, Dish, Food group, Produce, Vegetarian food, Comfort food, Prepackaged meal,
Banquet

Remember that game where you guess how many marbles are in a jar? You could definitely play that with the peas in this TV dinner. And the carrots. And the noodles.

4

Swanson German Style Dinner

Food, Dish, Cuisine, Ingredient, Prepackaged meal, Produce, Confectionery, Comfort food,
Swanson

Unlike the English style fish 'n' chips, the folks at Swanson didn't even attempt to name this German style "dinner." That prune-apricot compote looks like some sort of rotten raw egg, and we're not convinced there's actually meat hiding under that gravy.

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5

Swanson Meat Loaf Dinner

Prepackaged meal, Food, Cuisine, Dish, Ingredient,
Swanson

Meat loaf is a tough sell in any case scenario. Freeze it and serve it alongside colorless green beens and a chocolate nut brownie, though, and you've got yourself a major uphill battle.

6

Morton Ham DInner

Food, Ingredient, Cuisine, Meal, Tableware, Produce, Dish, Natural foods, Food group, Recipe,
Morton

It's a pancake! It's a burger bun! It's a ... piece of ham, smothered in raisin sauce?

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7

Libbyland Safari Supper

Text, Organism, Poster, Plant, Illustration,
Libbyland

The cool thing about Libbyland's frozen dinners is that the boxes were printed with fun games.

8

Swanson Hungry-Man Turkey Pie

Food, Dish, Cuisine, Ingredient, Pot pie, Steak pie, Pie, Apple pie, Comfort food, Baked goods,
Swanson

Swanson's Hungry-Man line debuted in the '70s as bigger portions of the brand's already popular dishes — like a one pound serving of turkey pot pie.

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9

Morton Twinkie Supper

Art,
Morton

Honestly, what kid wouldn't want to pick up a dinner called "Twinkie supper." This hot dish came with a (umm, questionable-looking) burger, some sides, and—of course—a Twinkie.

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