Toaster Oven Useful? Recipes?

[VanFan]

Okay.  I may be getting spoiled.  Electric hook-ups at "campgrounds" used to seem useless to me.  First it was a fan... Then I discovered the joy of an electric tea kettle... The other night, the long ago thrifted ceramic cube heater took the chill off.  It's a slippery slope, and I am now considering the merits of a toaster oven for use on the road.

Do any of you use one?

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

if i slid down that slope i would make sure my toaster oven had a rotisserie in it... Mmmm

i dont have one and make do by frying my "toast" but boy a toaster oven can sure make some nice goodies. best nachos for one

if i had the space and the power, i would consider one

 

[VanFan]

i dont have one and make do by frying my "toast"...

if i had the space and the power, i would consider one

Not a thing wrong with fried toast, IMO.  Nachos?  Yes!  Thanks!  I'm looking under the bed for a likely spot for that oven.  Power would be more of an issue when we venture out of Texas.  Here, shore power seems to be everywhere.

 

[maki2]

Think more carefully, you don't even know what you want to cook in the toaster oven or what can be cooked in it, you just want one because you want it. You don't want it because you actually have a true need for it.

You don't need a toaster oven to make nachos, you just need a skillet with a lid. I won't give you any toaster oven recipes, instead I will give you one that you can do with the things you already have.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/stovetop-nachos-recipe/

Learn how to adapt the tools you already have for more than one purpose instead of hauling along ever more bulky appliances. Is having lots of appliances really your goal for this life style?

I keep seeing lots of videos of people who started off in modest sized RV who started out saying they wanted to simplify their life. But then they keep expanding and expanding, going to larger RVs that have more roof space for more solar panels rather than continue to learn how to adapt to doing more with less. Installing mega sized battery banks to go with the panels. That is not living a simple life or being green and eco friendly. It takes a gas hog of an engine to haul all that stuff around.

 

[rvwandering]

I deleted a couple of posts. Please refrain from bickering.

 

[jacqueg]

Okay.  I may be getting spoiled.  Electric hook-ups at "campgrounds" used to seem useless to me.  First it was a fan... Then I discovered the joy of an electric tea kettle... The other night, the long ago thrifted ceramic cube heater took the chill off.  It's a slippery slope, and I am now considering the merits of a toaster oven for use on the road.

Do any of you use one?

Are you a baker? At home, I use my toaster oven, I use the range oven for storage! But unless you're into serious baking, you don't need one on the road. Before my digestive system started rejecting wheat, I baked artisanal sourdough in my toaster oven... Now I'm experimenting with making wheat-free flatbread in a cast iron skillet. 

If you have the room for it anyway, sure. Here's a book I found useful - https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Toaster-Oven-Delectable-Convenient/dp/0609807684

But as Maki said, you need to be careful about being seduced by cool gadgets. They're ALL cool. But that's not necessarily a reason for you to have them in your van. To me, it would make more sense to carry a cast iron casserole. You can bake a few biscuits in those on a propane burner, as well as simmer beans for hours.

 

[eDJ_]

As a kid I'd go camping and fishing with my Dad who had a small GE Toaster Oven that he used when we had electric available.  I still have it sitting over on my kitchen counter now.  It can be nice at times at home but my microwave gets more use by far. 

Dad finally decided to just get a Coleman folding aluminum camp oven and learn to use it.  It took us awhile to learn to use it as there is no automatic  time and temp setting to have it pop open and shut off like with the toaster oven.  We also had a stove top toaster for making toast.   Since we had the Coleman stove going anyhow using it for baking and making toast just made more sense.  Plus these two items knocked down flat. (saving space)

My Mom had been a Home Economics student before I was born and she always claimed that she would rather have an electric skillet with lid than anything else. (she came along occasionally)  She thought a cook could grill, fry, cook, and bake with it as well as eat from it and stow left overs in it as well to quickly warm up and eat from it again.  Her ES was about a foot square and 6 inches tall. But she could stow a lot of her cooking stuff in it when not being used. (kinda like it's own cabinet)  She could fix our breakfast in it before dad could get his specialty sourdough beer batter biscuits  whipped up, baked, and on the table.

I don't think I'd ever purchase a toaster oven. But for a College kid in a dorm or small apartment it,  one of those small refrigerators, and an electric skillet may be all that's needed.

 

[frankgibbons]

Easy meals to make with a toaster oven. I like her recipes.

 

[StacyK]

In my house, I used a toaster oven all the time and loved it. Like jacqueg, I used it more than the range oven. I would hesitate to add one to my van, though, just because of the heat in a small space. They put out a lot less than a range oven, but a van is also a lot smaller than the average kitchen. I just don’t think it would be comfortable, but maybe that’s an August problem.

If you want to give it a try, though, I like Toaster Oven Love for small-batch recipes.

https://toasterovenlove.com/

 

[RoamerRV428]

oh yes I love a good toaster oven takes the place of a big oven for sure and for fast heatups of food that you don't want to ever 'nuke' cause it is nasty when reheated, the toaster oven is wonderful for that.

most COEs and state park campgrounds do have electric hookup so if that is your kind of camping your shore power is around alot more than you think. We do mainly COEs and state parks and always had power in them for alot of states but of course you must research and make sure you are getting a power site.

but yea, I love mine. I think it has so many different uses, worth it for sure.