It’s hard to believe that your toaster oven can do more than just toast your morning bagel or reheat your leftovers, but it’s true. Surprisingly so, it can come in handy both inside and outside your kitchen. For now, forget your toast and find out the hidden talents of your toaster oven.
DIY Enamel Dots
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Remember those nifty little iron on beads we all used to play with? If you still have them (I do, oops) and want to break out your creative side, you can make some pretty cool looking crafts.
Get your inner artist on and follow this link to make enamel dots using your toaster oven. Use them to decorate anything–cards, scrapbooks, jewelry box–that floats your boat.
Flattened Wine Bottle
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Admit it, as college students one of our favorite items to collect (and show off) is the bottles of alcohol we’ve consumed.
If you want to flaunt your alc in a fancier way, melt and flatten your wine bottles in the toaster oven. You can now impress your friends with your array of Jack Daniel’s bottles and flattened wine bottles–which can serve as coasters for your friend’s beers.
Mini Batches of Cookies
Photo by Mackenzie Barth
Sometimes (most of the time) you want to relish in a batch of cookies alone, but don’t want to make a whole batch to share.
Here’s the simple solution: make a smaller batch of cookies and bake them in the toaster oven. This way there’s less clean up and the perfect amount of cookies to accompany you and your Netflix.
Heat Up Plates
Photo courtesy of HoustonPress
Everyone knows that a buttery oven-cooked steak–and most other food–is served best on a hot plate. Personally, one of my favorite parts of dining at a steak house is when the waiter warns you not to touch the 500°F plate (and then having one of my family members do it).
If you really want to look like a master chef, throw your plates in the toaster oven for a few minutes before serving your food. Just remember to warn your guests.
Hard Boiled Eggs
Photo by Justin Shannin
Making hard boiled eggs can be extremely time consuming, and for the average college student, time is not on our side. You can make hard boiled eggs much more efficiently by baking them in a muffin tin for 30 minutes. No need to wait for the water to boil, just sit back, relax and toast your breakfast.
Toasted Nuts
Photo by Kirby Barth
Why not make your house smell like a winter wonderland (chestnuts roasting) and toast a selection of your favorite nuts in the toaster oven? It’s seriously amazing.
Oven Baked Bacon
Photo by Kelly Logan
Bacon. Enough said.
As if bacon couldn’t get any better, your toaster oven does the impossible. Let your bacon slowly bake in the toaster oven until it gets crispy and greasy–aka bacon porn.
Veggie Chips
Photo courtesy of Flickr
If you need a salty treat and don’t want to ruin your waistline, veggie chips are about to be your lifesaver. These are super cheap (score) and easy to make in a toaster oven–just cut up some veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toast away.
Dehydrated Fruits
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Most of the time you can find dried fruit crisps at your local supermarket–and yes, they are delicious. However, if you have a toaster oven you can simply cut up fruit and throw them in the toaster oven to create your own homemade fruit chip. #healthychipsftw