The biggest change throughout college is that you learn to be your own person. That means, prioritizing your time, doing all chores on your own, and cooking for yourself. Moving into your dorm or apartment, you get to buy your own kitchen appliances, which, to be honest, was one of my favorite parts of moving in.

But in real life, you really don't need the blender, slow cooker, coffee machine, convention oven, tea kettle, etc. all on your countertop. In fact, you can totally make meals in one toaster (and the toaster can be helpful for other things too!). 

As for using your toaster in the food department, I collected these five easy toaster hack meals recipes. Who knew your toaster could make all that?

1. Cheese Quesadilla

cheese, rice
Alex Weiner

Have a tortilla and shredded cheese? Sprinkle the cheese in the tortilla, keeping the cheese away from the tortilla edges. Then, fold and crease the tortilla in half so that the cheese doesn't ooze out later. Place in the toaster with the quesadilla's open side side-up and wait. Yum.

2. Grilled PB&J

sweet, pastry
Tarika Narain

Upgrade your plain PB&J into a warm and crunchy sandwich. Do your usual thing: slather on that peanut butter and jelly on your choice of bread and then pop it into one slot of the toaster. So quick and so simple.

3. Grilled Cheese

bread, meat, grilled cheese sandwich, toast, sweet, chicken
Caroline Grew

You don't even need a pan! Place your cheese of choice in between two slices of bread that have been spread with butter on the outside. Put it in one side of the toaster, and enjoy that cheese-y goodness.

4. Panini

ham, bread, sandwich, cheese, meat, toast
Jennifer Cao

From toaster to panini maker, build your go-to sandwich normally and just place the whole sandwich into one side of the toaster. Instant panini.

 #SpoonTip: Keep the sandwich's fillings away from the crust so it doesn't spill in the toaster.

5. Sweet Potato Toast

Alex Frank

Slice a sweet potato long-wise with 1-inch thickness or less. Use caution. Place that sweet potato (or any potato, for more variety) slice into the toaster slots on high heat. Toast it about 2-3 times until the potato is heated and soft. An alternative to toast, this sweet potato toast is perfect for those who do not want to consume bread. 

Note that different toasters may have different heat settings, so adjust the heat accordingly. Be creative and let your imagination go wild coming up with new toaster hack meals.

Take advantage of your toaster with these easy toaster hack meals. Of course, you can always toast bread, bagels, naan, and other baked goods in a toaster. But, as you can see, how you decide to utilize it is up to your creation. Toasters are one of the most versatile kitchen appliances, but please use your better judgment when putting foods into it.