Toaster Ovens

Do you have one? Do you use it? Do you like it? Was it a waste of money for you?

Many years ago, we had a toaster oven (might have been a GE, I don't really remember) and we used it, not necessarily for toast as much as for grilled sandwiches, English muffins, etc. I may have baked a couple things in it, but that was about it. It bit the dust, we got rid of it and never bought another one. We've talked about getting one, but we don't bother. We've looked at them, but we don't buy one. And I don't know why as there are times when we think we might be able to use one. We do have a toaster and we'll get it out if we want toast. We have a sandwich griller that I don't use that often; we usually heat the griddle or the frying pan and make grilled sandwiches that way. 

We have so much stuff on our counters: the microwave, two stand mixers, the food processor, the Keurig, my knives, cutting boards, etc. Do I really want something else on the counter top? I don't know and I don't really have a place to store it when it's not being used. But I could probably bake small items in it, thus not heating up my ovens, esp in the summer. 

I'd appreciate your opinions. Thanks!

I use mine a lot.  

It toast just ok, but good enough. I'd rather have a dedicated toaster since they brown better but this is fine.

I actually have used it to cook small meals (a couple of chicken breasts for instance) instead of putting the oven on.  Really helpful in the summer when I don't want to warm up the kitchen so much.  I have a professional oven and it really heats up!

I forget what brand it is offhand - one of the more pricey ones but I wanted more bells and whistles.  It's a little too bulky, I'd prefer a slimmer model but it's at the edge of the counter so really not in the way of anything.

We have always had one and I do like them but I'm not crazy about the one I have. it's this one


It works great as an oven but lousy as a toaster. I'm considering bringing it to the thrift store and getting another one. I have no need for a rotisserie any more but I do toast bread for my sandwiches a lot. I didn't buy it from Amazon. I got it from kohl's on sale. If I do get rid of this one I will definitely get another one. I do use it as an oven because even when DD is here, it's still easier to use it than the big oven. 

I use my toaster oven most of the time. I only use the big oven for stuff that's too big for the small one, like lasagna or roasted veggies in the big baking dish. I cook frozen pizzas in it mostly :tongue2:. But other stuff, too, like fish or chicken. It toasts pretty well, too, although I don't eat regular toasted bread, only bagels.

On a related note, why do people think you're weird if you say you had a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, but if you had peanut butter on toast, they think that's perfectly normal? Americans are weird :lol3:

I had a toaster oven years ago, but rarely used it. I donated it a long, long time ago. :nod:

Willowy said:

I use my toaster oven most of the time. I only use the big oven for stuff that's too big for the small one, like lasagna or roasted veggies in the big baking dish. I cook frozen pizzas in it mostly

. But other stuff, too, like fish or chicken. It toasts pretty well, too, although I don't eat regular toasted bread, only bagels.

On a related note, why do people think you're weird if you say you had a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, but if you had peanut butter on toast, they think that's perfectly normal? Americans are weird

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Lots of people eat peanut butter on toast AND bagels here in NYC.  I see it all the time.  

sivyaleah said:

Lots of people eat peanut butter on toast AND bagels here in NYC.  I see it all the time.  

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I don't mean bagels. . .I mean if you say you had [i ]a sandwich[/i] for breakfast, people act like it's deviant behavior, but if you say "peanut butter on toast", they don't :dk:. I don't like toast---it hurts the roof of my mouth---so I'll sometimes have a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. I just learned not to actually call it that! "Breakfast foods" are such a cultural construct (and a very recent one too!) but a lot of people I know act like it's written in stone what you can and can't have for breakfast, like it's morally wrong to eat "non-breakfast" foods in the morning :lol3:. It's fun to try to explain cultural constructs to someone who has never been more than 50 miles from where they were born .

Bah, I meant to look at what kind of toaster oven I have but I forgot. I got it at Costco anyway.

Willowy said:

I don't mean bagels. . .I mean if you say you had a sandwich for breakfast, people act like it's deviant behavior, but if you say "peanut butter on toast", they don't

. I don't like toast---it hurts the roof of my mouth---so I'll sometimes have a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. I just learned not to actually call it that! "Breakfast foods" are such a cultural construct (and a very recent one too!) but a lot of people I know act like it's written in stone what you can and can't have for breakfast, like it's morally wrong to eat "non-breakfast" foods in the morning

. It's fun to try to explain cultural constructs to someone who has never been more than 50 miles from where they were born

.

Bah, I meant to look at what kind of toaster oven I have but I forgot. I got it at Costco anyway.

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Considering I've been known to eat left over pizza or Chinese food for breakfast - I am not one to comment on what is or is not appropriate to eat that early in the day 

sivyaleah said:

 
Considering I've been known to eat left over pizza or Chinese food for breakfast - I am not one to comment on what is or is not appropriate to eat that early in the day 

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Leftover lo mein for breakfast? yes please!! I do that all the time.

I don't care what's "appropriate" to eat any given time. I eat what I feel like eating. People eat breakfast foods for dinner all the time. I love to do that. A breakfast sandwich is still a sandwich.

About toaster ovens:

Four years ago I bought a Cuisinart toaster oven. It is a larger sized oven. My stove oven is not very even in cooking.

I wanted to supplement the stove oven. Sometimes, in the summer, you do not want to heat up the house, so I have used it a lot. 

For some reason, it does not seem to be all that even in cooking. I have found that if I pre-heat it for a bit longer then it usually does the trick. It cools off much faster than the stove oven--I guess that is because there is not much insulation in there..

After I bought this one, I found out the Brevelle toaster ovens are the best ones to get. Much more dependable than any others; however, the are the most expensive. I did see them when I was looking for mine. I really could not see spending that much money for a toaster oven; now I wish I did. 

I have used mine for reheating pizza, baking a chicken breast, baked potatoes. It is not so good for broiling a piece of salmon steak..but what do you want for a toaster oven.. it is not a full replacement for the stove oven. 

I have an Oster that is a toaster/convection oven. It sits in the corner on the counter top. We use it often. I bake in it a lot in the summer when I am cooking for just the two of us. It makes good chicken, pork loin or chops. I do French fries in it and lots of other things. I wouldn't want to do without it. We use a coated skillet to toast our sandwiches.

Yes, I have a white Black & Decker one. Being just me here, I use it often. I wish I had more counter space, so I could keep it out. I use it to bake those Gorton grilled fish filets. Salmon, or tilapia. I love those, quick, easy & healthy. I have also used it to bake chicken breast, etc..  Warm up left over pizza. 

I think I have used mine for everything but making toast.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

I have an Oster that is a toaster/convection oven. It sits in the corner on the counter top. We use it often. I bake in it a lot in the summer when I am cooking for just the two of us. It makes good chicken, pork loin or chops. I do French fries in it and lots of other things. I wouldn't want to do without it. We use a coated skillet to toast our sandwiches.

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I have this toaster/convection oven too. I love it.

Winchester said:

Do you have one? Do you use it? Do you like it? Was it a waste of money for you?

Many years ago, we had a toaster oven (might have been a GE, I don't really remember) and we used it, not necessarily for toast as much as for grilled sandwiches, English muffins, etc. I may have baked a couple things in it, but that was about it. It bit the dust, we got rid of it and never bought another one. We've talked about getting one, but we don't bother. We've looked at them, but we don't buy one. And I don't know why as there are times when we think we might be able to use one. We do have a toaster and we'll get it out if we want toast. We have a sandwich griller that I don't use that often; we usually heat the griddle or the frying pan and make grilled sandwiches that way. 

We have so much stuff on our counters: the microwave, two stand mixers, the food processor, the Keurig, my knives, cutting boards, etc. Do I really want something else on the counter top? I don't know and I don't really have a place to store it when it's not being used. But I could probably bake small items in it, thus not heating up my ovens, esp in the summer. 

I'd appreciate your opinions. Thanks!

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Winchester said:

Do you have one? Do you use it? Do you like it? Was it a waste of money for you?

Many years ago, we had a toaster oven (might have been a GE, I don't really remember) and we used it, not necessarily for toast as much as for grilled sandwiches, English muffins, etc. I may have baked a couple things in it, but that was about it. It bit the dust, we got rid of it and never bought another one. We've talked about getting one, but we don't bother. We've looked at them, but we don't buy one. And I don't know why as there are times when we think we might be able to use one. We do have a toaster and we'll get it out if we want toast. We have a sandwich griller that I don't use that often; we usually heat the griddle or the frying pan and make grilled sandwiches that way. 

We have so much stuff on our counters: the microwave, two stand mixers, the food processor, the Keurig, my knives, cutting boards, etc. Do I really want something else on the counter top? I don't know and I don't really have a place to store it when it's not being used. But I could probably bake small items in it, thus not heating up my ovens, esp in the summer. 

I'd appreciate your opinions. Thank

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If you

You sound like you're trying to talk yourself into it. Work out pros and cons. How often wiLL you really use it?
You've got other stuff that does the same things the toaster oven did. The only sensible thing you said was using it instead of the oven. How often will that occur. I had one. I gave it to my daughter.

We have a black 4 slice one that I LOVE.  I have not used the oven in a year as I put everything in it.  It can hold a frozen pizza from Trader Joes if I flip up a bit of one end.  I reheat rice in it as think it comes out better.  It was under 20 from Kohls as I had a 30% off coupon and Kohls cash.  It also earned some Kohls cash so really worked out.  I do not own a microwave or toaster so everything is in a pot, nonstick pan or toaster oven.

Me again! I did a search to bring this back up! Well......I think we're going to go with a Breville Smart Oven Pro BOV845BSS. Brevilles are on sale right now at B B & B for 20% off and I have a 20% coupon. I like the idea of being able to bake a cake in it, esp in the summer, so that the kitchen isn't steamy from the big ovens being used. I'm interested in toasting and also like grilled cheese and the like. I like that I can do a 13-inch pizza on Friday nights in the winter when we're not grilling outside. I'm not interested in broiling.

I looked in Consumer Reports as well as reread the reviews here. They rate the Brevilles pretty highly.

I'm also interested in griddles. Not really for pancakes, although we'll use it for pancakes. But I have absolutely nothing in this kitchen that heats evenly enough that I can do homemade English muffins. I tried using Mom's electric frying pan and some muffins get almost black quickly while others are barely brown. English muffins aren't really baked; they're done best on a griddle or a frying pan, just, evidently, not an electric frying pan.

Kitchen gadgets.....geez, I am such an absolute sucker for kitchen gadgets. Now, if I can just find some blasted room on the counter.....

Winchester said:

We have so much stuff on our counters: the microwave, two stand mixers, the food processor, the Keurig, my knives, cutting boards, etc. Do I really want something else on the counter top?

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I can relate so strongly to this statement. We also have too much stuff on the kitchen counters. Whenever I watch a home show, e.g. House Hunters on HGTV or Fixer Upper, I wonder where do they put all that "stuff."

We have never owned a toaster oven and probably never will but use our toaster on a regular basis. DH loves PB & P, (for preserves), sandwiches on toast for breakfast. W Willowy , he's one of those, lol. He thinks plain bread is too mushy. Different strokes for different folks.