About
Toaster Ovens

Everyone who has ever spent any significant amount of time in college dorm rooms knows that a toaster oven is the primary cooking tool of the student. With that in mind, consider giving the college bound person in your life a dorm warming gift of a Black & Decker toaster oven. They offer many benefits. One, they are small, so they definitely won’t take up too much room in their dorm or their small studio apartment.

Two, they are easy to use. Many college freshmen have never cooked a meal in their lives, and this is a good intermediate step. As they become increasingly independent and learn how to do everyday chores like cooking dinner, they will learn recipes outside the toaster oven. But for the time being, it’s a great way to make sure that they don’t simply survive off ramen noodles and some form of canned pasta.

     We found ourselves in the midst of the worst blizzard in years.  We were stranded in our cozy farm house in mid-Michigan.  Since we live far from the county seat on a dirt road, we didn’t expect to see a snow plow for 2-3 days.  While we were waiting, we turned to our economical and dependable toaster oven for easily prepared comfort food.

     One of our favorite easy fix treats to munch on as we watched the snow reach one foot, is cheesy hot biscuits. These are so simple to make even my husband can prepare them.  You start with refrigerated ready-made biscuit dough. Dip each biscuit into melted butter and then into grated cheese.  Put them on a greased pan and bake them in your toaster oven until nicely browned.

      We sure do love our handy dandy toaster oven.  If you don’t have one yet, visit our website at KitchenEconomies.com for a good selection of top of the line toaster ovens.

When it comes to toaster ovens, there’s not a whole lot of variation in style, but there are vast differences in quality amongst the different brands.  Most manufacturers of appliances now have a toaster oven, but the more reliable kitchen brands tend to be the best deal.  For whatever reason, toaster ovens that aren’t well made seem to burn out their electrical circuit, and become useless.  Some toaster ovens are also prone to damage from power surges; even just simple surges when the lights go out for a few seconds.  The best toaster oven brands include Rival, Hamilton Beach, and KitchenAid.  These brands are known for producing quality appliances that last a long time.  With whatever brand, it’s also a good idea to check for a warranty on the appliance.  Even a year warranty isn’t bad, and will probably be enough time to tell whether the toaster oven will last.

There is one variation in toaster ovens themselves, and that is convection versus non convection ovens.  Convection toaster ovens are like standard ovens that can cook food all over on all sides at the same time.  Standard toaster ovens only toast the top of the food and sometimes the bottom.