Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Ultimate Comfort Food - TV Dinners

Nothing beats a TV dinner on a cold snowy or rainy night. There’s something infinitely comforting about either a piping hot, gravy infused pie or satisfying meatloaf with mashed potato. They’ve been a part of the American culinary landscape for almost sixty years and they’re just as good now as they were then.

C.A. Swanson and Sons created the first frozen meal in 1953. The first dinners were a take off of a traditional Thanksgiving one with sliced white meat, gravy and cornbread stuffing, peas and carrots were also added to round it out, The tray were designed to fit nicely in that new American addition to the living room - the TV tray. In 1960 Swanson added desserts such as apple cobbler and brownies . Nine years later the first frozen breakfast called Fresh Starts, appeared on the scene, giving busy families a chance to enjoy a hearty hassle free meal. Hungry man dinners appeared four years late r in 1973. These has big portions and diverse meals such a fried chicken and meat loaf. There are still Swanson TV dinners but now they’re in microwavable plastic try as opposed to the original aluminum.
What are the best TV dinners today? I’ve just discovered Marie Callendar’s meat pies. These are wonderful, homemade style potpies chock full of turkey or chicken chunks; a light gravy and veggies. I love the flaky crust which is similar to homemade. Of course there’s always Swanson, a favorite of mien since childhood. Nothing still beats their turkey and gravy and it’s still the best comfort food especially after a long, hard day.
TV dinners are a big part of the American landscape. They bring back good memories of sitting in front of the TV watching favorite shows. They’re still the perfect dinner or even lunch for those of us too busy sometimes to cook.

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