What Are The Possibilities With Toaster Oven Cooking?

 
So now you’ve acquired you shiney new black toaster oven ( or any other color for that matter). Bu maybe you are not sure what meals you can successfully cook using one, or if you’ve moved into a place which has a toaster oven but you’ve never used one before, you’ll find it useful to know what can be cooked in one – and just as important what can’t.

 

Toaster Ovens Are Not Just For Toast!

First of all, don’t let anyone tell you that toaster ovens are just for toast. They have a much greater range than that. But you do need to be realistic. Cooking that Thanksgiving dinner for twelve people in a toaster oven isn’t going to work unless everyone has e very small appetite! However they are useful on occasions like this as a secong oven to give you that extra capacity.
 

 

So What Can you Cook In A Toaster Oven?

The most obvious thing is… toast! Some people are strangely reluctant to make toast in a toaster oven but it will produce excellent toast. Make sure that you experiment with the heat settings so that you get the toast just as you like it. And remember that if you do more than one batch, the second and subsequent ones will take less time than the first because the elements are already hot.
But don’t stop there. Here are some ideas for what you can cook. Some of them may be things you’d use a microwave for. But a microwave tends to make food soggy.

*Pizza.

Whether it’s come from the supermarket, or you make your very own specialty pizza piled high with favorite ingredients, a toaster oven is ideal for cooking it. Make sure that the pizza isn’t too big for the oven; and be sure to pre-heat the oven. Pizzas need to be cooked quickly for the best texture and flavor;

Potato waffles

If you’re having these instead of toast for breakfast, use the toaster oven to cook them quickly and economically. Other items include;

*Breakfast muffins: make in the usual way and use the toaster oven to bake them. Make sure that they don’t get too browned;

*Toasted sandwich: prepare two slices with spread and ingredients, and toast. Then put one slice, inverted, on top of the other;

*Roast vegetables. Roasting is sometimes said to be a no-no for toaster ovens and certainly you can’t roast anything but the tiniest birds, or joints of meat. But one thing you can roast is vegetables. Try sliced carrots, or halved peppers; or asparagus. Just sprinkle with oil and bake at a high temperature (450°F) until done to you liking;

Baking In A Toaster Oven

Is it possible? Yes it is.  Just as you can do muffins, so you can bake other small cakes. Don’t try to do large cakes because the middle will not cook properly. But a chocolate cake for two can be just right cooked in a toaster oven. Use mini-cake pans from a cookware store. The oven must be one of those which has a thermostatic control to keep an even temperature. And test that the cake is done, a bit earlier than you would using a conventional oven, and re-check more often if necessary, because the edges can easily burn.
*Garlic bread. If you’re doing just this, and not using your main oven for a full meal, heating up garlic bread using the toaster oven is much more economical;

Finally, experiment. Keep the dishes small and check often, but if you bear that in mind you’ll find other things you can cook successfully in your toaster oven.