TV dinners from the 70s

[JodyLynC]

Remember being a kid in the 70s and having TV dinners for supper. They were in the crinkly aluminum foil pans. Everything would be nicely browned. The potatoes or stuffing with be crispy along the edges. The fish and fries would be firm not soggy. There was always a little pat of butter on the mashed potatoes that would melt into a pool of yumminess.

I remember mom eating these on nights when my mom had to work. She would poke holes in the top of the foil to vent. If there was a dessert like brownie or apple crisp, she had to cut the foil off that section. They would have to cook for 35-40 minutes, but boy were they convenient for the time.
And good!! The microwave safe trays just don't cook the food the same. Plus the food tastes like the newer trays. Aluminum pans rock!!

So which ones do you remember? What were your favorites?

I think mine was the meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes or fries. I remember scooping the gravy onto my potato of choice and devouring the whole thing in seconds.

 

[Missy1961]

for us, they were a treat when my dad had a late meeting & wasn't home for dinner. (we ate dinner as a family almost every single night.) You are so right, they just cooked better in those aluminum pans.

I loved the fried chicken. It came with those buttery yummy mashed potatoes, corn & a brownie. And the chicken was 60% bread crumbs, I think that's why I loved it so much!

 

[ChrizJen]

for us, they were a treat when my dad had a late meeting & wasn't home for dinner. (we ate dinner as a family almost every single night.) You are so right, they just cooked better in those aluminum pans.

I loved the fried chicken. It came with those buttery yummy mashed potatoes, corn & a brownie. And the chicken was 60% bread crumbs, I think that's why I loved it so much!

Oooh! The fried chicken was yummy!! But I think my favorite was the Salisbury Steak with gravy and mashed potatoes. MMMmmmmm!!

Makes me long for the old days!

 

[Chuck S]

Swanson fried chicken dinner, turkey & dressing dinner and mexican style dinner. Plus the Chicken Pot Pies were yummy. I can stand the microwave versions. The crust on the pies is just awful now, and ally, it isn't all that much faster to microwave something frozen than to throw in the oven. I wish they'd go back to the aluminum trays.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

The turkey dinner!!!

I did hate when I would get stuck with the ones with the mixed veggies.

 

[OK!]

for us, they were a treat when my dad had a late meeting & wasn't home for dinner. (we ate dinner as a family almost every single night.) You are so right, they just cooked better in those aluminum pans.

I loved the fried chicken. It came with those buttery yummy mashed potatoes, corn & a brownie. And the chicken was 60% bread crumbs, I think that's why I loved it so much!

YES! That was my favorite one, too. When I saw the thread title, I had an immediate flashback to the brownie & the corn....MAN, I loved those things!

 

[JodyLynC]

The turkey dinner!!!

I did hate when I would get stuck with the ones with the mixed veggies.

Ugh! Corn was definitely the veggie of choice.

 

[Lib E]

I thought it was just me that remembered those dinners in the foil tray with fondness. They really were better. My favorite was a Van deKamps enchilada dinner with rice and beans.

 

[Jockaroo]

I loved these as a kid. It was food my Dad was allowed to make when my Mom worked weird shifts. I remember the peas, carrots or corn would be scattered throughout the meal. I still like corn in my apple crisp!

My favorite was the Veal Parmesan until I was old enough to know what "veal" was--never ate one again. The new favorite was the turkey dinner.

 

[themarquis]

I do remember the foil TV dinners from the 80s!

But .... I don't remember that any of them were particularly tasty

You're right, though, that they would have browned and gotten crispy much better than microwave dinners!

 

[JessicaR]

That brought back memories! As a kid when my parents went out the babysitter made us TV dinners and it was pretty rare! It was a treat and I do remember them fondly. My kids dont even know what they are.

Look at these old commercials from the 70's for different TV dinners. I remember Libbyland and Swanson dinners. Hungry Man was always "too big" for us to eat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGtqsT5UVnI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BuVlGWwGGc&feature=related

 

[JerseyJanice]

I liked the salisbury steak and turkey over stuffing varieties the best myself. Another good one was made by Gorton's (I think). It was a fried seafood combo with haddock filet, scallops, shrimp, and tater tots.

 

[Barbossa]

Does anyone remember Libbyland Dinners, which were TV dinners for kids? We had them all the time, loved 'em!

http://theimaginaryworld.com/fod12.html

 

[denisenh]

having anything other than a home-cooked meal was a rarity when I was a kid. We always ate at the table together and we took turns saying Grace too.

But I do remember libbyland tv dinners! we were "treated" to them on occasion. I think that the box opened into some fabulous new world.....or something.

 

[denisenh]

Does anyone remember Libbyland Dinners, which were TV dinners for kids? We had them all the time, loved 'em!

http://theimaginaryworld.com/fod12.html

wow! i have a pretty good memory! I knew that the box was something special!

 

[OhhBother]

Swanson salisbury steak with french fries -- man, I still crave that sometimes.

 

[Nancy]

Those dinners had the best mashed potatoes! And butter on them too...yummy!

My favorite was the fried chicken. And yes there were always rogue veggies scattered throughout the meal.

 

["Got Disney"]

Remember being a kid in the 70s and having TV dinners for supper. They were in the crinkly aluminum foil pans. Everything would be nicely browned. The potatoes or stuffing with be crispy along the edges. The fish and fries would be firm not soggy. There was always a little pat of butter on the mashed potatoes that would melt into a pool of yumminess.

I remember mom eating these on nights when my mom had to work. She would poke holes in the top of the foil to vent. If there was a dessert like brownie or apple crisp, she had to cut the foil off that section. They would have to cook for 35-40 minutes, but boy were they convenient for the time.
And good!! The microwave safe trays just don't cook the food the same. Plus the food tastes like the newer trays. Aluminum pans rock!!

They still come out like that if you cook them in the oven instead of the microwave I still love the Chicken dinners and the Salisbury steak

 

[Cool-Beans]

I loved the fried chicken. It came with those buttery yummy mashed potatoes, corn & a brownie. And the chicken was 60% bread crumbs, I think that's why I loved it so much!

That's the first one that came to mind for me. I liked it well enough. Brownie kinda sucked but it was better than nothing.

Still, I'd take today's Stouffers over yesterday's tin foil.

 

[*BTMRR*]

Yummy! I loved the salisbury steak.
The TV Dinners as we always called them were a huge treat for us. Once in a great while at the grocery store my mom would let each of us kids pick out whichever TV dinner we wanted. Then it would seem an eternity while they were cooking in the oven but boy did they taste delicious! And we even got to eat them in front of the TV! My brother always chose the Hungry Man meatloaf with mashed postatoes and I couldn't believe how he could eat that much!
I think the new ones probably do taste much better than the old ones, even microwaved, and we look at the old ones through rose colored glasses.