Alva Review-Courier -

“Mama Mia, that's a spicy meatball,” “Heat, eat and enjoy,” and “A meal in a minute with the Chef’s touch in it” were advertising slogans for quick-fix meals that are heating up again.

It all began in 1928 when Clarence Birdseye started freezing packaged fish. Maxson Foods used Birdseye’s technology to offer frozen dinners to airlines in 1945, but it was Swanson that opened the oven door for complete consumer meals in 1953 with what they called the “TV dinner.” Using some of the 260 tons of frozen turkey left over from Thanksgiving that year, Swanson added cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes an...