Toaster Ovens

[Mother Dragon]

We don't have a toaster oven for space reasons. We should because those big KitchenAid electric ovens suck power fast enough to overheat the electric meter.

What we do use a lot is our Cuisinart Griddler. This is our third one. We keep upgrading. We kept the last one because we got waffle plates for it and it makes much better waffles than the waffle iron. The latest Griddler has more control but is much heavier. If I'm making fajitas, I cook each serving as needed on one Griddler and heat the flour tortillas on the other. It makes great grilled sandwiches, quesadillas, and a host of other things.

 

[posiepurrs]

I have a toaster oven which hasn't seen the light of day since our kitchen remodel was finished last year. In the remodel I dedicated a cabinet for most of the gadgets. All I have of the counter top now is my coffee maker, stand mixer, a fryer and my knife block. My toaster oven will probably end up being donated.

 

[Winchester]

The biggest thing for me is the space issue. There is a large microwave, the food processor, the air fryer, knife block, both KA mixers, Jackie's food and meds, seasoning shakers, the Keurig, etc. All on the counter, along with a plant and Winey (Winey is a metal cat that holds a bottle of wine; my sister gave him to me a few years ago). I use everything, even both KA mixers. So I have to justify having a toaster oven. And, truth be told, this one is on Dear Richard more so than me; he has been wanting a toaster oven for quite a while now. I keep saying, do we really need one and he keeps saying YES!

We have a toaster that is stored in the cabinet above the fridge. It is very, very old and has seen better days. Some mornings, the toast is burnt; other mornings, there's barely a tan. We don't have anything to toast bagels, so Rick has to slice his bagels into three slices for toasting in the toaster; he complains about that every time. It's all we can do to even fit a sliced English muffin in the toaster, esp mine because I make my English muffins thicker than what we buy in the store.

I don't have one spare inch of storage space in cabinets or shelves to store anything else. It has to go to the basement.

We have to grab a few groceries tonight, so we're going to stop at B B & B first.

 

[Mother Dragon]

Why don't you get a modern toaster? They even have a bagel setting now. It sure would take up a lot less space. Check out all they can do now. You might change your mind!

 

[neely]

Why don't you get a modern toaster? They even have a bagel setting now. It sure would take up a lot less space. Check out all they can do now. You might change your mind!

Great idea! Our toaster has a wide slot for bagels and I believe most of the toasters accommodate bagels now.

 

[arouetta]

The only reason I am not using my toaster oven right now is that I have no more counter space. I love it. Like everyone else, it doesn't heat a house like an oven does. And I found it great when you have two foods you want done at the same time but there's a 50 or more difference in baking temperatures.

Mine has bake, broil and rotisserie settings in addition to the traditional warm and toast. And it has a temperature setting rather than low, medium and high. Two racks plus the crumb catcher that also works for baking and broiling. It's big enough that I can put an 8x8x2 cake pan in it.

I've baked fish in it, broiled steaks, and made lasagna and meatloaf. It had all the attachments necessary to rotisserie a full chicken. The only limitation is size, I can't fit even the smallest cookie sheet, so it has to fit on an 8x8 surface.

 

[Winchester]

Ok. We bought an Oster at Target tonight. I could not, simply could not justify spending $300 on a blasted toaster oven. The Breville looked nice, but it does a ton of stuff: it air fries, it dehydrates, it's a slow cooker, it defrosts, etc. (We have an air fryer, we have a dehydrator, we have a ton of slow cookers.) And once I really started checking on reviews, basically what you get for your $300 is an appliance that usually bites the dust after 2 years or so.

We had to go to Target to pick up meds and while we were there, we looked around. I remember several people mentioning Oster. I don't know what the brand is like these days, but I had an Oster blender that lasted a good 25 years. And that was after it was in the flood of 1972 from Agnes. We cleaned it up, sanitized it, and it worked forever afterward.

It's pretty big; I can bake a 9 x 13-inch cake in it, do two 16-inch pizzas, etc. Toast, bagels, grilled cheese, bake. It broils and grills, but I won't be broiling in it (I don't broil at all, not even in the our big oven....we grill outside).

I asked Rick if he was sure he wanted a toaster oven versus just buying a new toaster. This is what he decided on.

And I'm done. I don't care if somebody gives me a brand new kitchen appliance that's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have no counter top space. I. am. done. Finished. No. More. I. swear.

 

[debbila]

You won't regret getting a Breville toaster oven. Since I've had it
, I have only used my range oven for things that won't fit in the toaster oven.* Put all your other appliances away in your cabinets ( makes the kitchen look so neat too ). It only takes a few seconds to get them out when you need them. It's worth it to have room for the Breville oven.
* The last time I needed the range oven was for the turkey last Thanksgiving.... wow it's been a year!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

an Oster toaster oven!!

i like Oster brand appliances. i loved my Oster blender that i had years ago, but the glass 'carafe' part became damaged -- don't remember exactly how, or what the damage was, but it was gone.

that's great that you have a good sized toaster oven now! it might help during the hot weather months, in preventing your kitchen from becoming hot as hades, and hopefully will cut down on the electric bill (from the ac running) too.