tv dinners
- Thread starter Lurkette
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- Joined
- Sep 21, 2014
spice up your stouffers with some salsa for a latinx twist
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2013
There was a period of time I survived off of Michelina's penne and chicken in a creamy sauce.
Those were dark times. I'd dip taquitos in the leftover sauce.
Those were dark times. I'd dip taquitos in the leftover sauce.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2014
If you don't go AnPrim and hunt deer with a wooden spear then you're a fucking pussy.
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2014
I'd rather eat dick. Bull dick. It's a delicacy.
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2016
that sounds about as appetizing as a banquet salisbury steak dinner
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2013
I remember Kid Cuisine being good but I also remember Spy Kids 3 being good, so I may find that my opinion has changed over the years.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2014
I just had my first TV dinner in years. I cook almost everything from scratch but my partner and I somehow found ourselves on an impromptu trashy midnight date at the 24 hour grocery picking out the worst TV dinners we could find.
Conclusion: Hungry Man Salisbury steak is fucking vile.
Conclusion: Hungry Man Salisbury steak is fucking vile.
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2017
Many years ago, I think the company Michallina's had this thing called Marinara Twist. It was a budget item, and I like some pasta so I gave it a try. It was one of the most horrifically smelling things I had ever seen, and I didn't burn it in the microwave. It looked- even worse. However, holy hell was it really good. I had to hold my nose eating the damn thing, but it sang on my tongue. I think it was taken off the market a long time ago, but I actually miss that weird ass thing.
Do frozen pizzas count as frozen dinners?
I started a thing with friends and family by taking a budget frozen pizza, usually Tombstone, and then getting a packet of pepperoni from Hormel or something and then layering it on like it was some sort of plated armor, like a samurai helmet, or shingles on a house. You arrange the pepperoni (including the pepperoni that comes with the pizza) so you can have a open plus divot in the middle so you can cut the pizza easily without having to cut through the slices of meat.
You need to cook it a little longer, which isn't much of a problem. You'll learn what your various oven needs for that. The second problem is the grease from the pepperoni can be a bit much. However with those, the result: you take a poc 3-5 pizza, spend a little more on pepperoni and you make it a mission. I call it Samurai Style for old Tombstone pizzas.
If you don't do this, Tombstone doesn't give that many toppings anyway so whatever.
I used to make a pizza like this for myself, make it my only meal for the day and watch some Taiwanese Radish Farming cartoons or other television and really relax.
I think it was Stouffer's, I don't recall since it's been a long time, but there used to be these frozen breakfasts that I used to like. The special thing about them was that they made scrambled eggs in the only way I could eat them. They weren't runny or fluffy, more solid. So add the ketchup and pepper and I was good to go. I don't know how they were prepared, but they were awesome back in the day. One of my relatives when they were alive said they were probably hard boiled eggs made scrambled, but I don't know. That was the only way I can eat eggs. I kinda miss them. They changed the recipe after a while and what they started producing was runny crap and I couldn't handle that.
Do frozen pizzas count as frozen dinners?
I started a thing with friends and family by taking a budget frozen pizza, usually Tombstone, and then getting a packet of pepperoni from Hormel or something and then layering it on like it was some sort of plated armor, like a samurai helmet, or shingles on a house. You arrange the pepperoni (including the pepperoni that comes with the pizza) so you can have a open plus divot in the middle so you can cut the pizza easily without having to cut through the slices of meat.
You need to cook it a little longer, which isn't much of a problem. You'll learn what your various oven needs for that. The second problem is the grease from the pepperoni can be a bit much. However with those, the result: you take a poc 3-5 pizza, spend a little more on pepperoni and you make it a mission. I call it Samurai Style for old Tombstone pizzas.
If you don't do this, Tombstone doesn't give that many toppings anyway so whatever.
I used to make a pizza like this for myself, make it my only meal for the day and watch some Taiwanese Radish Farming cartoons or other television and really relax.
I think it was Stouffer's, I don't recall since it's been a long time, but there used to be these frozen breakfasts that I used to like. The special thing about them was that they made scrambled eggs in the only way I could eat them. They weren't runny or fluffy, more solid. So add the ketchup and pepper and I was good to go. I don't know how they were prepared, but they were awesome back in the day. One of my relatives when they were alive said they were probably hard boiled eggs made scrambled, but I don't know. That was the only way I can eat eggs. I kinda miss them. They changed the recipe after a while and what they started producing was runny crap and I couldn't handle that.
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2013
The only one I can stand is Trader Joe's palak paneer.
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2016
Dont knock those. The gravy is great for other things, and the parties can be cut up for mac and cheese, quesadillas, pan fried ramen, basically anything. I buy them wholesale.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2020
I might be the only person on the entire farms who's afflicted with the kind of autism that makes a person both enjoy TV dinners and want to discuss them at length. I also personally don't consider anything not served in segmented trays to be a "TV Dinner". Also, they must be prepared in the oven as the microwave is absolute dogshit for the authentic TV dinner experience. Also the food comes out better.
So without further ado, here's my personal opinion on every available (as of August 2nd, 2020) Hungry-Man TV dinner in Canada. I believe pretty much all of them are/were available in the US as well. I've ranked them from best to worst.
1) Grilled Beef Steakette
By far the supreme example of what a TV Dinner can be. It overcomes its lack of dessert with the best sauce I've had outside of a restaurant. It's a bit tangy and runny compared to the usual gloopy slop that gets dumped onto these meals. The patties were surprisingly not the typical formed meat slurry concoctions mush (despite being formed meat slurry concoctions) and had some excellent texture to them. The potatoes were perfectly fluffy after a bit of stirring (pretty much how it goes in every Hungry-Man meal) and the vegetables were fresh and tasty. My new go-to meal when it comes to frozen food.
2) Turkey
What's there to say about the most iconic of all TV dinners? My previous go-to before trying the steakette, it's hard to fuck up something so simple. Now these aren't whole muscle turkey as you'd expect, they're more like deli turkey. Not a problem for me as I love deli turkey. Gravy is excellent, stuffing is superb, potatoes are great and the corn is pretty good. The apple-cranberry dessert is tasty albeit a bit difficult to eat unless you use a spoon. If you're a lazy bastard like I am, you want to clean as few utensils as possible. Overall, the solid #2 spot with little likelihood of being surpassed.
3) Buffalo Style Chicken Strips
The first of two examples of chickey tendies on this list. One of the reasons I ranked them so high is because most fried chicken meals get soggy AF on the bottom from sitting in their own grease/melting water as they cook. Breading starts coming off and the whole meal is ruined. These are the only exception in my experience. As for the flavor, pretty on point for generic buffalo/hot sauce flavor. Breading was nice and crispy, sides were good and the brownie as always is excellent when prepared in the oven. The delicious chocolatey flavor is always the best way to cap even the worst of TV dinners. Another option I'd recommend.
4) Backyard Barbeque
A very unique combination of main items in a pretty tasty BBQ sauce. The fake rib meat is kinda mushy and weak while the "grilled" chicken carries the show for me. Sides and dessert are once again excellent. Not much to say here other than it's a solid dish. This is the first dish I'd be hesitant to recommend as I know a lot of people will be turned off by the texture and shape of the pork cutlette.
5) Salisbury Steak
Another classic TV dinner. Similar texture to the grilled beef steakettes however the sauce was thick, bland and while not unappetizing I wouldn't see myself craving more of it. The green beans were kinda mushy as well and not really flavorful. They seem to be better in the mixed vegetables you get with the carrots and corns. This is the beginning of the series of items I would not recommend to people. I personally would not buy these again either unless some miraculous overhauls are done to improve their quality.
6) Fried Chicken
Now known as "Fried Chicken Cutlettes" to differentiate it from traditional whole muscle bone-in fried chicken. Although the traditional fried chicken isn't available (yet?) in Canada so the name change seems pretty strange. Anyway, as I mentioned in the previous fried chicken option, these have a habit of getting soggy on the bottom and these are no exception. Kinda bland, flavorless, textureless and falling apart on the bottom. Would not recommend.
7) Ham & Fried Chicken
A delicious honey bourbon sauce is the only positive thing you'll see when it comes to this dinner. The pieces of ham are insultingly small and the fried chicken might as well not even be fried considering it sits and cooks inside the sauce turning the entire thing into mushy garbage. The last meal before things really go off the rails into total chaos.
8 ) Jumbo Popcorn Chicken
The first of the options I wouldn't even feed to a dog. It starts out poorly by replacing the dessert with a Spiced Rum BBQ sauce which I would soon learn is necessary to make these golf balls from Hell in any way edible. As usual, soggy bottoms although less surface area touching the plastic so less of it the breading was soggy. Biting into one of these things is a whole other story. As you'd expect, these are your typical formed meat slurry concoctions that instead of being extruded into flat patties are rolled into balls. This results in a unappetizing moist flavorless ball that leaks water (hopefully) every time you bite into it. The breading does almost nothing to counteract this and without the previously mentioned sauce these wouldn't even make it down my throat. Please do not purchase this one and dissuade anyone you see buying one from doing so.
9) Beer Battered Chicken
The absolute worst when it comes to soggy fried chicken. The batter was basically raw on the bottom after these things were done cooking. The breading was already half off when I go to them with the fork. Not only that but the breading also tasted of nothing. I don't understand how you could fuck up fried chicken this badly even if you tried. I was hoping the sodium and fat I was ingesting would kill me half-way through so I wouldn't have to eat any more of it. Avoid avoid avoid.
10) Pulled Pork in Barbeque Sauce
Not only the absolute WORST Hungry-Man meal I've ever had but possible one of the worst frozen meals of all time. The box is 100% a deception with its juicy-looking tender pieces of pulled pork in a tasty sauce. The reality of the situation couldn't be any further from the truth. What I'm going to charitably call "pork flakes" were drowning in one of the most sickeningly sweet sauces I've ever had the misfortune of eating. There was so little pork that it was basically just a plate of sauce. This is one of the meals that puts the potatoes and entree in the same compartment so even the usually acceptable potatoes were somewhat ruined by it. Then we get to other half of these torturous meal, the dessert. Unlike the apple cranberry dessert which develops a bit of a gelatine-y coating on top after being cooked, the apple crumble just gets rock hard. Once I finished picking at it, I managed to try what little of it there was and was immediately overwhelmed by the taste of artificial cinnamon. I won't lie, this one was a struggle to eat and I wouldn't force even my enemies to eat it. Avoid this pile of shit at all costs if you value your life.
So anyway, those are my autistic thoughts. I've also had the Hungry-Man XL Bowls (which are just rebranded Banquet Mega Bowls from the US) and the Hungry-Man XL Chicken Pot Pie. I didn't include them on the list as they aren't TV dinners although I thought I'd briefly mention them here for posterity. All the bowls are varying degrees of mediocre and didn't come with oven instructions despite the Banquet packaging in the US featuring them. As such I had to prepare them in the microwave which no doubt contributed to their poor showing. The pie however came out quite well from the oven. Crust was nice, filling wasn't a disgusting mess and was overall a pleasant experience. I'm personally not a pot pie kind of guy so I wouldn't purchase it again although I'd recommend it to anyone that was.
Anyway I'll collect your puzzle pieces down below and thanks for reading.
So without further ado, here's my personal opinion on every available (as of August 2nd, 2020) Hungry-Man TV dinner in Canada. I believe pretty much all of them are/were available in the US as well. I've ranked them from best to worst.
1) Grilled Beef Steakette
By far the supreme example of what a TV Dinner can be. It overcomes its lack of dessert with the best sauce I've had outside of a restaurant. It's a bit tangy and runny compared to the usual gloopy slop that gets dumped onto these meals. The patties were surprisingly not the typical formed meat slurry concoctions mush (despite being formed meat slurry concoctions) and had some excellent texture to them. The potatoes were perfectly fluffy after a bit of stirring (pretty much how it goes in every Hungry-Man meal) and the vegetables were fresh and tasty. My new go-to meal when it comes to frozen food.
2) Turkey
What's there to say about the most iconic of all TV dinners? My previous go-to before trying the steakette, it's hard to fuck up something so simple. Now these aren't whole muscle turkey as you'd expect, they're more like deli turkey. Not a problem for me as I love deli turkey. Gravy is excellent, stuffing is superb, potatoes are great and the corn is pretty good. The apple-cranberry dessert is tasty albeit a bit difficult to eat unless you use a spoon. If you're a lazy bastard like I am, you want to clean as few utensils as possible. Overall, the solid #2 spot with little likelihood of being surpassed.
3) Buffalo Style Chicken Strips
The first of two examples of chickey tendies on this list. One of the reasons I ranked them so high is because most fried chicken meals get soggy AF on the bottom from sitting in their own grease/melting water as they cook. Breading starts coming off and the whole meal is ruined. These are the only exception in my experience. As for the flavor, pretty on point for generic buffalo/hot sauce flavor. Breading was nice and crispy, sides were good and the brownie as always is excellent when prepared in the oven. The delicious chocolatey flavor is always the best way to cap even the worst of TV dinners. Another option I'd recommend.
4) Backyard Barbeque
A very unique combination of main items in a pretty tasty BBQ sauce. The fake rib meat is kinda mushy and weak while the "grilled" chicken carries the show for me. Sides and dessert are once again excellent. Not much to say here other than it's a solid dish. This is the first dish I'd be hesitant to recommend as I know a lot of people will be turned off by the texture and shape of the pork cutlette.
5) Salisbury Steak
Another classic TV dinner. Similar texture to the grilled beef steakettes however the sauce was thick, bland and while not unappetizing I wouldn't see myself craving more of it. The green beans were kinda mushy as well and not really flavorful. They seem to be better in the mixed vegetables you get with the carrots and corns. This is the beginning of the series of items I would not recommend to people. I personally would not buy these again either unless some miraculous overhauls are done to improve their quality.
6) Fried Chicken
Now known as "Fried Chicken Cutlettes" to differentiate it from traditional whole muscle bone-in fried chicken. Although the traditional fried chicken isn't available (yet?) in Canada so the name change seems pretty strange. Anyway, as I mentioned in the previous fried chicken option, these have a habit of getting soggy on the bottom and these are no exception. Kinda bland, flavorless, textureless and falling apart on the bottom. Would not recommend.
7) Ham & Fried Chicken
A delicious honey bourbon sauce is the only positive thing you'll see when it comes to this dinner. The pieces of ham are insultingly small and the fried chicken might as well not even be fried considering it sits and cooks inside the sauce turning the entire thing into mushy garbage. The last meal before things really go off the rails into total chaos.
8 ) Jumbo Popcorn Chicken
The first of the options I wouldn't even feed to a dog. It starts out poorly by replacing the dessert with a Spiced Rum BBQ sauce which I would soon learn is necessary to make these golf balls from Hell in any way edible. As usual, soggy bottoms although less surface area touching the plastic so less of it the breading was soggy. Biting into one of these things is a whole other story. As you'd expect, these are your typical formed meat slurry concoctions that instead of being extruded into flat patties are rolled into balls. This results in a unappetizing moist flavorless ball that leaks water (hopefully) every time you bite into it. The breading does almost nothing to counteract this and without the previously mentioned sauce these wouldn't even make it down my throat. Please do not purchase this one and dissuade anyone you see buying one from doing so.
9) Beer Battered Chicken
The absolute worst when it comes to soggy fried chicken. The batter was basically raw on the bottom after these things were done cooking. The breading was already half off when I go to them with the fork. Not only that but the breading also tasted of nothing. I don't understand how you could fuck up fried chicken this badly even if you tried. I was hoping the sodium and fat I was ingesting would kill me half-way through so I wouldn't have to eat any more of it. Avoid avoid avoid.
10) Pulled Pork in Barbeque Sauce
Not only the absolute WORST Hungry-Man meal I've ever had but possible one of the worst frozen meals of all time. The box is 100% a deception with its juicy-looking tender pieces of pulled pork in a tasty sauce. The reality of the situation couldn't be any further from the truth. What I'm going to charitably call "pork flakes" were drowning in one of the most sickeningly sweet sauces I've ever had the misfortune of eating. There was so little pork that it was basically just a plate of sauce. This is one of the meals that puts the potatoes and entree in the same compartment so even the usually acceptable potatoes were somewhat ruined by it. Then we get to other half of these torturous meal, the dessert. Unlike the apple cranberry dessert which develops a bit of a gelatine-y coating on top after being cooked, the apple crumble just gets rock hard. Once I finished picking at it, I managed to try what little of it there was and was immediately overwhelmed by the taste of artificial cinnamon. I won't lie, this one was a struggle to eat and I wouldn't force even my enemies to eat it. Avoid this pile of shit at all costs if you value your life.
So anyway, those are my autistic thoughts. I've also had the Hungry-Man XL Bowls (which are just rebranded Banquet Mega Bowls from the US) and the Hungry-Man XL Chicken Pot Pie. I didn't include them on the list as they aren't TV dinners although I thought I'd briefly mention them here for posterity. All the bowls are varying degrees of mediocre and didn't come with oven instructions despite the Banquet packaging in the US featuring them. As such I had to prepare them in the microwave which no doubt contributed to their poor showing. The pie however came out quite well from the oven. Crust was nice, filling wasn't a disgusting mess and was overall a pleasant experience. I'm personally not a pot pie kind of guy so I wouldn't purchase it again although I'd recommend it to anyone that was.
Anyway I'll collect your puzzle pieces down below and thanks for reading.