Additional toaster oven question: what about a convection toaster oven??

[Lori D.]

Honest question here, what do you do with a toaster oven? I have never owned one or known anyone that did. I am 40 something years old and I have never had a need for one. It is not really obvious like say a bread maker or grain mill.

 

KidsHappen's question (quote above) in my first thread got me thinking -- like her, I've never owned one, and have never thought about needing/wanting one. I'm mostly thinking about this as a birthday gift for DH. Several times in the past few months he has mentioned that using the gas oven uses 30% more energy than a toaster oven would. So, I'm reading into that, that he would like us to consider having one.

 

Now I've been looking them over, some I see are convection toaster ovens. Would this be the better route? Can you really roast a chicken or some potatoes in the convection oven, and does it really save a lot of energy? Does anyone use a convection toaster oven a lot for doing dinner? Is it worth it to have a big appliance sitting on the counter? (Even though I have a lot of kitchen counter space, I really hate having things on my counters -- even the microwave is mounted over the stove.)

 

At the moment, I reheat leftovers in the microwave to keep them moist. (I HATE oven dried out leftovers!!) Would the convection oven part dry out leftover meat, rice, casseroles, French bread, etc? Other than leftover pizza, I don't use the oven for leftovers. We do use the oven once a week for a frozen pizza, and 1-2 times a week for cookies.

 

Oh yes -- and broiling. Does a toaster oven or a convection toaster oven broil? I use the broiler several times a month for either a piece of garlic toast or a cheese crisp, or for meat or chicken kebobs. I'm thinking this usage may go down, too, as I am trying to cut back on carbs for myself (cookies, bread, and cheese crisp queen!) to try and drop some lbs. We also have a very nice gas BBQ outside that we use a lot instead of the broiler for meats and chicken.

 

:bigear: Any thoughts welcome!! Warmly Lori D.

Edited April 10, 2009 by Lori D.
added info

[KatieJ]

I have had the plain ole toaster oven on my counter for 15 years. My whole family loves reheated pizza in there rather than the oven. I had one casserole that fit perfectly in it and I used it regularly.

 

Christmas a year ago, my DH surprised me with the convection/toaster oven. He got it at Costco for 99.00..it retails for more.

 

I LOVE IT!

 

Yes, it bakes, it broils, it holds a whole frozen pizza...most of my casseroles fit in there.

We remodeled last summer and I cooked in an empty bedroom with my toaster oven, microwave and electric fry pan.

I can do a 9x9 pan of brownies in less than 20 minutes!

I did cookies and brownies frequently for our carpentry crew last summer.

I did sweet potatoes in about 30 minutes the other night.

 

Making toast takes a bit longer than a regular toaster, but then I can fit 4-6 pieces of bread in there at a time too.

 

I use this oven more often than I do my regular oven now, unless I am baking bread of course.

[ElizabethB]

We have a convection toaster oven. It uses half as much energy as our regular oven, and in convection mode, cooks a bit quicker. We bought one that fits a pizza, it has a little bump out in the back so it fits a regular sized round pizza.

 

We use it all the time. I have several different bread pans/casseroles that just fit in the oven, I've cooked almost a full lasagna in the toaster.

 

In the summer, sometimes we take it outside and plug it in to cook out there, further saving energy dollars.

 

Unless we're having company, with the ages of our children, we can cook almost any oven meal in the toaster oven instead. That may change when we have a teenage boy or they're having a growth spurt!

 

I also like toast better in a toaster oven than a regular toaster, and cinnamon toast is particularly yummy made in a toaster oven--you can put the butter on first, then it melts all in together. (This also makes more of a mess, make sure you get one with a pull out bottom portion so it's easier to clean.)