Have you recently purchased a toaster oven and you have no idea what to do with it and how to use it? Well, don’t panic as this article will help you with your toaster oven journey. From the basics of how to use toaster oven to food tips, this is your go-to guide.

Toaster ovens are known for the temperature produced when cooking. So, it is very important to make sure that your oven is placed in a position where there’s an efficient amount of space for air. Make sure that your toaster oven has enough breathing space. This ensures that the heat expelled by the toaster isn’t trapped in the back.

After having sufficient space, plug it in. With the toaster oven’s main functionality of toasting, it is best to place the item you will be cooking directly on the rack. Turn on the timer afterwards. Be wary of how long you will be toasting your food to produce the best results – crispy, delicious and juicy. However, you can add a little bit more time to the cooking process.

In crisping, browning, and producing the perfect toast, there’s always a little challenge of getting the perfect combination. Also, remember to always use mittens and a hot pad when pulling the rack out.

There are also numerous ways of using the toaster oven. If you love baking goodies, cakes and cookies, toaster ovens can be the one to use. Using toaster ovens is also good for you, economically, because you would be saving your energy consumption. Why? Toaster ovens do not require heating up a whole oven, making the baking an energy-saving activity.

When using ovens for baking cookies and goodies, the temperature is set to 350 degrees and the food will stay inside the oven for fifteen minutes. Although, the baking time and temperature changes with the recipe chosen for the cookies and goodies. But the great advantage of the toaster oven is that it is easy to handle and keep an eye on. In fact, you can observe how your food is cooking in a minimal amount of time.

In addition, here are other uses of toaster ovens: You can melt cheese to perfection, and bake potatoes (sweet and not) to its sweetest delight with this toaster oven. Reheating leftovers can also be done, as well as cooking frozen foods like pizza for example. The convenience you can get with toaster ovens are immensely great, making your cooking experience more delicious.

How to use toaster oven for making enjoyable food? To get started, here are some tools to help you in your usage of the toaster oven.

Ramekins. The small oven-safe cups are excellent for baking small-sized food like eggs, individual fruit crisps and oatmeal cookies.

Small Cookie Sheet. Cookie sheets that measure 8×11 inches fit most standard toaster ovens. Just check the size of your toaster oven first. To have the exact size, you can measure using your tin foil. It does work like magic!

Six-cup Muffin Tin. Some muffin tin are too large for your toaster oven, but luckily there are tins that fit. Just do remember to look at the sides and choose the ones with lesser metal on the edges. Remember, fitting the tins matter in making sure you can bake your food.

As everything starts with breakfast, we’ll give you some suggestions.

Whole-Wheat Blueberry Cornbread Muffins

Blueberries and cornbread wrapped together? Delicious! These muffins are getting on the healthier side with the addition of unsweetened applesauce and, of course, the whole-wheat flour. Fresh blueberries are also part of the recipe, making it more sumptuous as ever.

Greek Frittata

Veggies for breakfast sounds very healthy. Frittatas for breakfast provide a healthy dose of protein to the body. Together with a small casserole dish, you can have the flare of the Mediterranean side for your breakfast.

Mini Breakfast Pizza

Who wouldn’t like pizza for breakfast? That’s something everyone would look forward to. Add an egg to the recipe and it’s a breakfast meal now. That’s an easy twist.

Granola Special

Granola for breakfast sounds like you’re on vacation. But do you really need to travel far for a granola? Nope! Granola is a mixture of spices, seeds and nuts. For nuts, you’ll need sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Almonds are also part of the equation. Add spices like nutmeg, ground ginger and cinnamon. Don’t forget the oats. Place the mixture inside the toaster oven, heat and a granola is ready.

For lunch, we have these few food ideas that you’d like.

Portobello Pesto Burgers

Healthier burgers on the menu! These burgers aren’t the “burgers” you are used to. Not only is the meat used for the burgers pesto-seasoned portobellos, but the buns are also whole-grain. You can even add corn slaw and carrots on the side for coloring.

Spicy Salmon Sandwich

For this sandwich, the sliced bread used is “naan”, a flatbread from India. The salmon on the other hand will be marinated with sesame seed and thyme. Cooking this sandwich will only take up 10 minutes or less. An easy feat for you, definitely.

Tortilla Pizza

Pizza for your lunch but this is a healthier one. The recipe here includes a whole-grain tortilla as the crust, fresh veggies as toppings, marinara sauce, and a tweak of some cheese.

For dinner, we have these food ideas you’ll really like.

Roasted Chicken Tenders

A fancy way of roasting your chicken tenders. Dip the chicken tenders in a small amount of honey and some mustard, preferably Dijon mustard. Roast to perfect brown and it’s ready to be served.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Who isn’t fond of mushrooms? The dish is lighter than the usual mixes, but it is appealing. The mixture includes tomatoes, basil, onion, ricotta and spinach, which should be then filling a Portobello cap. You can also add some cheese to the topping which is bread.

Fish and Chips

The usual kind, but with a mix. The dips are tastier with thyme and lemon in the mix (these are just some of the ingredients). Fish and chips are cooked to crisp in the toaster oven.

So, there you have it – a detailed explanation how to use toaster oven and some food tips for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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