TV Dinner :)
Popular legend says that Thanksgiving leftovers led to the first frozen dinner idea.
A Swanson employee mistakenly ordered too much turkey in 1953. Because there was so much turkey meat left over, salesman Gerry Thomas came up with the idea of making frozen dinners similar to the dinners served in airplanes at the time.
5.000 aluminum trays were filled with turkey meat, cornbread stuffing, gravy, sweet peas and sweet potatoes. The meal cost less than $1 and were a hit with increasingly busy families.
Swanson often is credited with inventing the term "TV dinner" . They used the newest invention of that year - the television set - to set up their ad campaign, and it worked! The company sold millions of TV dinners starting in 1954.
TV dinners were prepared in the oven in the early days. However, during the 1970's, microwave ovens became very popular, and that is when TV dinners really took off. The aluminum trays were replaced with plastic containers, cooking time was reduced, and many more companies began to develop meals that busy families could prepared quickly.
And the rest . . . is history! Enjoy!
