9 Old-School TV Dinners You Completely Forgot About
Welcome to the intersection of nostalgia and disgust.
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.
Swanson English Style Fish 'n' Chips
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?
Night Hawk Steak 'n Taters
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.
Banquet Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
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.
Swanson German Style Dinner
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.
Swanson Meat Loaf Dinner
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.
Morton Ham DInner
It's a pancake! It's a burger bun! It's a ... piece of ham, smothered in raisin sauce?
Libbyland Safari Supper
The cool thing about Libbyland's frozen dinners is that the boxes were printed with fun games.
Swanson Hungry-Man Turkey Pie
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.
Morton Twinkie Supper
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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