TV dinners
Sometimes - not a lot, but sometimes - Mom served Swanson's TV dinners. The Turkey Dinner and the Salisbury Steak Dinner. We ate them at the kitchen table, though, not in front of the TV. In those days, a television in the kitchen was both unimaginable and unheard of. With five hungry boys to feed, Mom undoubtedly had to fall back on processed food if she was too busy for a freshly baked meal. For the same reason, she had to follow a certain repeating meal regimen, or menu - like sausage night, or hot dog night, or hamburger night, or chicken night, or egg-in-the-hole night. I remember that Thursday was hot dog night. I looked forward to it.
I preferred the Swanson’s turkey, because it included a modicum of dressing.