The TV Dinner was the start of a decline in culinary standards within the home. Once people were able to have fried chicken and corn in two and a half minutes, quality was thrown out the door.
The folks at Swanson's didn't mean any harm when they rolled out that aluminum tray in 1953, but they took the first step down a frightening road where pre-portioned convenience would reign. It began with the dinner entree, then the addition of a dessert section, and by the late 1960s, breakfast was served. But in 1986, the epidemic became far more serious when TV Dinners became microwave-friendly. Ever since, it's been Hungry-Man this and Stouffer's that...not to mention the Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine options.
It's bad enough that people are willing to accept rubberized Salisbury steak, let alone diet Salisbury steak...but no amount of convenience, speed or even cost-efficiency can make up for that hideous microwave meal SMELL. It's the distinct stinch of your office break room.
Apparently, however, ZZ Top is into TV Dinners. I guess those records aren't selling like they used to.
1 comment:
When I was a kid in the 1970s, the TV dinner (1 hr in the oven) fried chicken, mashed potato and yellow corn was the holy grail of all dinners on those rare occasions that my mom did not cook. When I recently tried one of these dinners in the microwave, everything was all wrong.
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