Eating in the 50's

[mjarrels]

My Aunt use to make goldenrod ice tea, picked goldenrod along the rual road side. Made great tea. My sister knows what it looks like but don't have a clue. Did make hot sassafrass tea as a kid digging the roots of young plants in the local woods.

mark

 

[dmccarty]

The closest we ever got to oven ready food was the introduction to our house of the TV Dinner. Not sure of the year but it was turkey and I'm pretty sure it was Swanson's. It wasn't like mom's but it got me by sometimes. The other
kids thought we were rich because we had TV Dinners.

At one point, I/we were eating quite a few Swanson's. They were not good food that is for sure but it was food. There was a certain novelty to the foil wrapped tray though and wondering what the food would look like when it was done. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

Some 55 years ago, I tried the TV dinners, and I think it was Swanson's even then. At any rate, I thought it wasn't bad. But then about 23 years ago, I left my wife and the kids with her parents for a visit for a week and I was home alone, so I bought a couple of TV dinners. I don't know whether they got worse, or whether my tastes changed, but I don't think I'll ever get hungry enough to buy another one.

 

[RobS]

How 'bout pot-pies? Seems we had those growing up and once in a while I'll get a taste for 'em. Banquet brand seems the most authentic to the original (may have been the original?). To this day I don't know how you are supposed to pierce the top crust of a frozen pot-pie!

 

[Bird]

Rob, my wife has been buying Marie Calendar pot pies at Sam's Club for herself. But a few months ago, I tried one; not bad, but not good enough to really want another one. Now when I was a kid, my mother would make them; no bottom crust, but top them with biscuits and bake them. I used to like that. And then a couple of times, she let me make blackbird pies. Everyone remember the old nursery rhyme; four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie? Well that's about how many it took. One or two shots with a 12 gauge into a close flock on the ground because I'd only strip the breasts out; 2 bites from each bird, and boil them, then bake them in a pot pie. I liked them back then; don't know what I'd think about them now.

 

[bigtiller]

Our first TV dinner was in the late 50's. It was advertised on TV a lot. Mom bought some for Saturday's supper and she was all excited about how cheap and easy they were to buy, cook and clean up afterward. I don't remember if it was any good or not but I remember dad saying it wasn't enough for a working man during the workweek. So it became a once-in-a-while weekend thing.

 

[sixdogs]

Charles Chips was another biggie in the 1950's early 1960's in the Midwest. They're still around but they seemed way better back then. Came in a metal can, and still do but smaller can and were as good as it gets for potato chips. We only got those on occasion or when we visited other homes for picnics or whatever. We thought very highly of those who would give kids anything so good.

 

[Looking4new]

Instant mashed potatoes came in a box. Mom tried Dad and I on them.....We both turned our noses up at them....She even tried half and half real mashed and instant....I alerted Dad to what she did. (I saw the box) Huge thumbs down for them. That was around 1960?

 

[dmccarty]

Instant mashed potatoes came in a box. Mom tried Dad and I on them.....We both turned our noses up at them....She even tried half and half real mashed and instant....I alerted Dad to what she did. (I saw the box) Huge thumbs down for them. That was around 1960?

Funny you mentioned mashed potatoes....

Yesterday, one of the kids wanted mashed potatoes to go with the ribs I was going to smoke/BBQ. We did not have enough time to make the potatoes from scratch, so I asked the wifey to looked for frozen mashed potatoes. She found some and we had them with dinner and they were REALLY good! :thumbsup::licking: Don't know the name though. :confused3: Took 3 minutes in the microwave with a bit of the lid off. Two minutes with the lid completely off and another few minutes to cool off a bit.

There must have been some push to sell instant mashed potatoes back in the day because my mom tried to sneak them into our dinner but my dad and I did not like them. Wifey mentioned using instant mashed potatoes yesterday and there was a resounding NO from the eaters to be. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

Instant mashed potatoes came in a box. Mom tried Dad and I on them.....We both turned our noses up at them....She even tried half and half real mashed and instant....I alerted Dad to what she did. (I saw the box) Huge thumbs down for them. That was around 1960?

I'd find it hard to believe that anyone could tell the instant mashed potatoes (properly prepared) from the others. This reminds me of my maternal grandfather refusing to eat sweet potato pie, but he liked pumpkin pie. My grandmother fed him a lot of sweet potato pie, but called it pumpkin pie and he liked it just fine.