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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Sept 09 2007 at 2:49pm | IP Logged
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A few months after we moved into our house last year our oven stopped working. And after buying a house, I didn't even have the money to get a repair person to come check it out. So for the past year everything I cook is on the stove top, microwave, or Foreman grill.
We are getting tired of being without an oven, and I think that this month I can afford to at least get some one to check it out. However, we may not be able to pay to fix it until next month, and I don't know what we'll do if it turns out to be less expensive to buy a new one than to fix this one. We definitely can not afford to buy a new stove.
So, anyway, my husband and I started discussing possibly getting a toaster oven instead of paying for a repair person. Neither one of us have any experience with one at all, though. I know that you can cook pizzas in a toaster oven, and I'd love to have one big enough to at least take a Totino's Party Pizza. I just didn't know if you can do any regular baking in a toaster oven. I used to make various breads (pumpkin, zucchini), and what about things like meatloaf? Would this even be a possibility in a toaster oven? Oh, and crescent rolls? (Can you tell I really miss my oven?  )
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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5athome
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We have a toaster oven that I rely on in the summer to keep the house cooler. I use it for everything -- casseroles, bread, cakes, pie, cookies, chicken bites, etc. The one I use can easily accomodate an 8x8 pan or a pie plate. For frozen pizza, some fit easily, others I have to slice off an edge piece to get the door to close properly. Ours also has a convection feature I rarely use.
I think it works ratehr well although I still prefer to use the regular oven -- baked goods seem to cook more evenly and reliably - especially tea breads.
HTH
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mellyrose
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Our toaster oven is also a convection oven, which basically means it can get hotter than a traditional toaster oven I think.
I bake things in it -- cookies, garlic bread, breadsticks, etc. Mine is fairly big - I just looked at it and it actually says on the door "12 inch pizza size". We have a Black & Decker and I think we got it for around $60 at Sears.
Oh - here's a link to the one I have.
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Carole N.
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I grew up without a toaster oven. I acquired one when dh and I married. I love my toaster oven (this is the second one that we have owned). It is small, but I use it for all kinds of cooking, but on a small scale. I have seen the larger ones, but have never purchased one since our oven works well. I will be sad to see it go when we moved, but it will probably be one of my first purchases when we arrive!
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Matilda
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I have never had a toaster over, but we do have an electric roasting oven that we use during the summer instead of the oven. You start seeing them all over the place as we get closer to Thanksgiving. My cousin used one for a whole year when their house was being gutted to cook for a family of 6. It might be another alternative.
It kind of looks like this one.
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JodieLyn
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Have you looked at used stoves? asked on any freecycle lists? watch the classifieds? Perhaps you could get a working used stove that way without paying more than any of the other options.
The electric roaster is nice.. you can bake with it.. and do roasts and casseroles.. I don't know how it would do with a pizza.. it won't brown things well.
I only have the cheapy end toaster oven that we use for toast.. but I like that I can broil with it, and reheat some things in it too.
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JodieLyn
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Also, have you looked online? there's free appliance repair instructions.. perhaps you could diagnois your stove yourself and see if it's not just an easy to replace part.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Genevieve
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There are cookbooks out there for toaster ovens. I use mine a lot because our family size is small. My toaster oven has an option for oven, bagel & toast. So if you can fit in then breads and meatloaf, then it can cook it without need to pre-warm it; It heats up fast. Try finding cookbook like this at your library for ideas.
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Sept 10 2007 at 7:37am | IP Logged
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Thanks for all of the information. I just have one other question. Can you use Corning Ware baking dishes is a toaster oven? I certainly do not want to ruin my Corning Ware.
Barbara
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Genevieve
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you can but would not recommend using them with the toaster/grill option. it has to be set on oven i.e., even heat distribution as oppose to top down. if you have used it successfully to grill in your oven then I think the above advice doesn't hold. Yours might be different from mine.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Toaster Ovens?
