I know you're gonna give me hell for admitting this, but here goes. Growing up, I loved Swanson frozen TV dinners. The presentation alone was enticing to an 8-year-old me. The way each item fit into a perfectly-shaped compartment and included all of my faves was too good to be true.
Down-home American choices like Salisbury steak, fried chicken or turkey and gravy with stuffing paired with mashed potatoes and a pat of butter, a brownie and who could forget the mixed veggies or bright green peas. I remember the way the mashed potatoes would get that crusty topping from the oven and the dessert would sometimes blend in with the veggies giving them a sweetness ... I'm getting hungry just thinking about a Swanson dinner.
Before microwaves were popular, Mom actually had to pop the aluminum tray into the oven for about 45 minutes. Hubs once joked about how as a hungry child, he hated the long wait for his Swanson TV dinner. Our moms only let us have these dinners on special occasions. When I say special, I mean "Parent Teacher Nights" or nights when they had to work late and didn't have time to prepare food.
Quick Fun Facts About Swanson Frozen TV Dinners
- Introduced in 1953
- The first Swanson item ever made was a frozen chicken pot pie
- Swanson sold 5,000 meals in the first year and over 10,000,000 TV dinners the next year!
- In 1970, Swanson introduced a line of frozen breakfast items
- In 1987, Swanson replaced the tinfoil or aluminum trays with microwavable plastic. The original style tray can be found in the Smithsonian Institute!
Check out this vintage Swanson Hungry Man Dinners commercial. I totally remember the song too, "Pull up a chair America, sit right there America, Swanson's cooking JUST for you!"
