We have a Cuisinart. From Costco, but a few years ago, so who knows what they carry now. Have you checked Bed Bath and Beyond? And use a coupon... ;-)

I have an el cheapo Hamilton Beach. You turn the dial to the time, turn another to the function( toast, bake, broil) and another for the temperature.
Not the most powerful....but simple....and cheap!
Linda C

I have a cheap Black & Decker that we got because it has a large interior and will fit a pan that is 10" deep. I have some 9" pizza screens that I used to use in it before I got a better large oven. Mine has a rotisserie in it, but I only used that once because it will not hold a chicken larger than three pounds. I think it was meant for cornish game hens. I use mine all the time and only seldom use the large oven because most dishes I make are not that large. If I want to roast a chicken, we pretty much always do that outside on the barbeque. In fact, I use the barbeque more often than the large oven.

Lars

I use the simplest of toaster ovens. The tray has been missing and the toast function hasn't worked for at least five years :-P. I'd probably like a timer on the next one, since I do sometimes use it for baking.

Thanks everyone for the replies. When I get my car back from the shop I can start looking for a new one.

I never realized how much I use it until it started acting weird. I always use it for garlic toast, pizza slices, baking potatoes (first zap them in mirowave then bake them the rest of the way in the toaster oven), bacon, hamburgers, chicken wings, snacks, small batch of cookies and muffins, baked fish, and use it a lot when it is just DS and me or when it is hot. Maybe I will look for a mid range model, not the cheapest.

Clare

We have had two Cuisinart toaster ovens, and have been pleased with them. I also use the TO much more than the regular oven because there are just two of us. I upgraded to the second TO because it was a little larger. I think this is a great mid priced TO from Costco.

Lee

You may want to look into a toaster oven with convection.

It doesn't matter how much you pay, the cooking power of any toaster oven is limited to no more than 1,800 watts, about the same as a hair dryer.

I would look for one which is all stainless steel construction. Much easier for cleaning.

dcarch

Just a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a hardly been used but older Toastmaster 'broiler oven' at a rummage sale for $8. I had never used a toaster oven before but, since I have no oven right now, thought I would try one. (Almost lost a soupy casserole getting it out of the 18 qt. Nesco.) Looked around until I found one big enough to fit a 9 x 13 pan. Anyway, I've been amazed with the results so far. I've baked hamburger/ brat buns (only 6 at a time) on two different occasions. Lemon bars. Baked potatoes. Baked onions. Roasted garlic potatoes--used the broil function to get them nicely browned after they had baked.

The problem now is that I did not plan for toaster oven space when I was designing the new kitchen. Not so sure that I want to live without a TO now that I've 'discovered' them!

I have 2 friends that have the Hamilton Beach Toastation and both really like it. It is the little oven that has the toaster on top like a regular toaster.

I have an old 20+ year old Panasonic toaster oven, which I LOVE. Last year at a thrift shop I saw the same model oven and bought it on the spot as a spare. It is pretty small, 2 slices fit with ample room, 3 overlapping slightly. I sometimes use it for 4 biscuits, more often to reheat a baked item or toast something.

My MIL has the basic Cuisinart TO and likes it, she uses it often instead of her range oven.

ci_lantro - The same thing happened to me. I resisted buying one for many years. What do I need a TO for when I got a regular oven? Then my DS got older and wanted the kind of breakfasts and snacks that a TO is perfect for and also it saves energy. And when we do get those rare hot days, I don't heat up the whole kitchen. And I couldn't have made it through a 7 month DIY kitchen remodel. It was my only oven then. Now I can't live without one anymore.
Clare

personally I liked my old toastmaster plain Jane one. You just pushed the button down for toast and DING it would be toast! It also had a thermostat for baking. I just researched and found a good rated one and got that, found it at Kmart. It's been a few years so I'm assuming they are all different by now. I like having one though because sometimes we are just reheating something I've baked, then frozen and don't want to heat up the entire large oven for just that. The new one I have is a Black and Decker Toast-R-Oven, it was about as close to my old one that got decent ratings.

I would go to Wal Mat and get the one that has the controls, looks and price you like. It will be fine.
Stick with name brands such as Hamilton Beach and Black & Decker.

I have one of the glass bowl with the heater in the lid type convection oven and it's great for many things. The one limitation of it is if you want to use some shredded cheese on something it can be tricky. The fan will blow it around. However, it is fast and does a nice job for many things. Pizza roll type snacks are 6 minutes from frozen to hot and they're not mushy like from a microwave. I use it to brown the ribs a bit before cooking them. Garlic bread is fine. I guess you could easily toast with it if you really needed to.

I've had 2 of the conventional toaster ovens and never found the charm in them. They heat unevenly and are clumsy. I threw them out. With the convection, the heat is even. Cleaning isn't bad either. Put a couple inches of water in it, a squirt of dish soap and put it on low temp and it splashes around and unless something's really baked on, it cleans it well.

I couldn't live without one, actually have 2, and their use goes up as the thermometer does. For anything that fits, that's preferred over turning on the regular oven. It's a little tricky getting used to for the less conventional items, but after a while, you get a feel for what your machine is going to do to/for different foods. Some cook faster, some slower. As long as I cover the top with a sheet of foil (not molded down, just laying on top) I can cook a whole chicken. I've made baklava, muffins, cookies, roast a lot of garlic, frozen french fries, meatloaf, u bet'cha!

If looking for a new one, I would try to find the kind that has (or offers optionally) a little roasting pan with drip tray. You can take the top part off for some things, and keep it on for something like chicken or meatloaf so it can drip out. The other one just has what looks like a little cookie sheet that is not as versatile (or deep.)

While reading your post, I got distracted and glanced away. When I glanced back, I read "DH put a new battery and starter in but I still had to have it towed." I'm thinking, "WHAT? What kind of toaster oven has to be towed?!?!?" LOL Better keep my eyes on one thing at a time!

Clare, another thing that I'm liking about the TO is not having to wait for half an hour (like my old oven) to preheat. Like last night when we had a late evening hankering for lemon bars. Had them baked & cooling off in little more time than it would have required for the oven to heat. And heating up a monster oven seems such a waste for a little 8 x 8 pan of something. And for a novice TO owner, the darned thing is just kinda' fun in an Easy-Bake oven sorta' way. :-)

I am laughing about the Easy-Bake Oven reference, but of course you are right. I have used the convection mode a lot on our Cuisinart TO. For years I had a baking stone that was just $3.99 and was a rectangle that fit the TO perfectly. Now I can only find one that is much smaller than the oven, and much more expensive, so I will be looking at 12" square quarry tiles if I can find some that are lead free. The baking stone was great for rolls, small artisan breads and reheating pizza.

L

"I have 2 friends that have the Hamilton Beach Toastation and both really like it. It is the little oven that has the toaster on top like a regular toaster."

I have a Black & Decker toaster oven with convection that I got at a half price sale. I rarely use it, but for tiny batch baking or reheating pizza, it's great.

Still...I guiltily wish it (and my toaster) would die so can justify getting a HB Toaststation. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Hamilton Beach� Toastation� Toaster & Oven