toaster oven question?

[alli]

I received a Black and Decker toaster oven 4 years ago for my wedding and it is still sitting in the box, unopened! I have a regular toaster for everyday use-would you please offer ideas on what they are used for besides toast? I have heard pizza, warming up tortillas etc?? Any other inspiring thoughts would sure help to get that toaster oven out of the box!

Thanks in advance!

[LesleyD]

Hi,

I use my toaster oven for cooking smaller items so that I don't have to heat the large oven. I also use it for toasting. If you have limited space, I would prefer tossing the toaster and using the toaster oven because it can be used for more.

I cook everything from salmon to muffins in my toaster oven.

Good luck.;)

[crazyquilter]

I do the same as LesleyD. I also use it to heat up things that the microwave doesn't do such a good job on, like leftover pizza, frozen taquitos, any snacky stuff for the kids. I've gotten rid of my toaster, too. This is so much more versatile.

[djoygirl]

I agree with Lesley and Crazyquilter. I haven't had a regular toaster in years. Just my trusty toaster oven. It pretty much gets used daily in my house.
Besides the usual things, I particularly like it for baking potatoes, roasting garlic, broiling open-faced sandwiches. Such tiny things to put in a big oven! It's also very useful for reheating leftovers (especially things that are better when crispy), and cooking individual frozen pizzas (yes, I eat those--gasp!).

Hope this gets you going!

[crc77]

I love my toaster oven- ditto to what has already been said. Never owned a regular toaster. I used buying my house last year to buy a new bigger toaster oven with a REMOVABLE crumb tray. The one I received for my wedding shower didn't have this feature, and, you guessed it, was not returnable. I used the #@** thing for 8 years because I do love the things but check to see if you have a crumb tray that slides out. It is a royal pain standing over a trash can shaking the oven. Can you even picture that? One of my favorite things that I make is pork chops with a mustard/breadcrumb topping, and like djoygirl said, it seems a waste to heat the whole oven esp in summer for two-four pork chops.
Cheryl :)

[HRJ]

Love the toaster oven! Got mine as a wedding shower present in 1989 -- Black and Decker -- and it's still going strong. Would love to replace it with one that has a removeable crumb tray, but this thing is the Enegizer Bunny of toaster ovens.

Aside from what everyone else has said, I use it for "mock" grilled cheese; toasting nuts for recipes; heating leftovers; broiling small amounts of fish (OK, that's been mentioned); toasting bulkie rolls or other breads that are too big to fit into the toaster -- generally, anything you'd use the oven for.

I also got a conventional toaster for a wedding gift, and that lived in the attic for years, until I finally donated it for charity.

Helene

[claire797]

You can bake potatoes in it. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour.

[funnybone]

My toaster broke last spring and I replaced it with a toaster oven (with help from this board). I have not had the need to buy a toaster, since this does everything. I must admit that is does toast slower than a regular toaster, but that isn't really a problem. I got the kind with a removeable liner and it is easy to keep clean.

Here's the past link if you are interested:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6608&highlight=toaster