I have both. Cheapies at that.

We did the move thing a couple years back 'cause it's just the two of us now and also ditched the TO. We don't miss it. Now, just have a two-slice toaster with slots large enough to take bagels. We only use it a few times/month. I rarely used my TO after the kids left. Our TO was used mostly for the kids to heat pre-cooked stuff I'd prepared and frozen. We are not a big nuke family. I'd originally purchased the TO thinking, "Gee, I'll use this in the summer for baked potatoes and stuff so I don't have to heat up the house with the big oven!" In reality, we didn't even want to eat baked potatoes in the summer heat so that never happened.

I prefer to have both. We use the toaster every morning for waffles. But the toaster oven is great for reheating a single slice of pizza, single serving of frozen fries, and other single servings.

Deb

I got rid of the toaster when I moved back into the kitchen. Since it's just me, for the most part, I don't turn on the oven too often, it's the perfect size. I got the Cuisinart 165 and I'm very pleased. The toast is fine, and it has a bagel, broil, convection and defrost setting as well as a timer. I can make small portions or fix snacks for the kids when they visit. For me, it works well as a second oven, too, when I'm fixing a big dinner.

You may also want to check the Appliances Forum, if you haven't already. This has been discussed there in the past...

TJ

Here is a link that might be useful: THS Gardenweb / Forum List

Thanks TJ - I thought that forum was for large appliances, didn't even look for toaster oven there. That thread is a great help!

I've decided to head to BB&B this afternoon and check out the toaster ovens with the 20% coupon that came in the mail today. I'd prefer to have either a TO or Toaster (not both), and I think the TO would be much more useful for us. We're "snacky" people and it would be great to have something that can crisp, heat up, etc. without having to use the oven. If we find the toast it produces isn't acceptable, we can always add a toaster later.

Thanks for everyone's help!

I use our TO almost every day as an oven to warm rolls for dinner. It is capable of baking a pie, etc., but I doubt it saves much over heating the big oven because it is poorly sealed/insulated. It is a pain for just plain toasting as it takes ages -- at least five minutes. This is a Krups TO, about seven years old. I'm about to chuck it; get a cheap toaster; warm plates and rolls in the oven!

IMHO, it's time for a new gadget: micowave-toaster-oven. Maybe there *is* one?

"IMHO, it's time for a new gadget: micowave-toaster-oven. Maybe there *is* one?"

Sharp makes the Warm & Toasty Toaster/Microwave. The customer reviews are lukewarm at best. My experience is that multi-function machines are seldom very good at anything.

We're experimenting with an old Proctor-Silex toaster oven I was given when it didn't sell at a neighbor's garage sale to see if a TO would be a reasonable replacement for both the toaster and the microwave. (We have a VERY small kitchen.) It toasts fairly quickly but the top gets a lot browner than the bottom. We made some melted cheese sandwiches that were pretty good though.

Are you referring to the old Proctor Silex pop up toaster with the oven in the side? I have one of those and it works well. They are now labelled as Hamilton Beach and back on the market, worth at least trying out.

Years ago I found I could get along just fine without a microwave oven, but could not go one week without a toaster oven.

I have had my "new" Cuisinart TO a few years now and I love it. Several settings for toasting, bakes pizza from scratch, does high heat roasting of chicken pieces, bakes ribs, breakfast casseroles, re-heats, has a convection setting, timer, clock, and doesn't heat up the kitchen in our hot summers like the full sized oven does.

Are you referring to the old Proctor Silex pop up toaster with the oven in the side?

No, it's just a plain little low-end toaster oven. We baked four slices of meatloaf in it last night, on a disposable aluminum tray. It worked very well. If we decide to go this way we'll need some new smaller bakeware. DW would like an oven big enough for a standard loaf pan or a 9" pie pan. She worked out that if it's big enough for them it will also be big enough for her favorite 6-hole muffin pan.

We're now in month three of living without a microwave and doing quite nicely. It's surprising what you can reheat in a covered sauté pan over a very low flame.

Teresa_nc7 -- How long does it take to toast two slices of bread, please? Do you know how much power it draws, compared to your full sized oven?

I'd be in trouble without our microwave. I use it all the time. This morning it made my instant oatmeal and warmed DH's coffee. Last night it defrosted chicken and cooked our veggies. It warms our grandson's formula. It softens brown sugar.

I hear you about heating up the kitchen. I remember my mother had an electric roasting pan she used in the summer for roasts; it was in the basement!

Goldgirl - We just replaced our 10 yo basic toaster oven (which did fine but was surely showing it's age) with a new Krups FBC1. Compared to our old TO this thing is amazing. It cooks so accurately. I don't know how else to say that. Our old TO just provided heat. It had a basic heating element. This thing seems to caress the food with heat, intelligently.... The heating elements surround the food and alternate giving the food time to 'catch up' Does that make any sense? The controls are intelligently laid out and work exactly the way I would expect them to. We haven't had it long enough to tell you anything about it's longevity but I would surely miss it if it was no longer here. I had no idea I could do so much with a toaster oven. It cleans up easily (for the occasional mishap). It's big enough for most things I would bake for just the two of us (not big enough for a full size chicken but 'parts' in a stoneware pan work just fine). And, by the way, it does a nice job with toast too...

Hope this helps,

Ken

The Cuisinart Toaster Oven toasts two or more (as many slices as you can fit in there) in less than 4 minutes. The oven has 6 settings for toast darkness.

As to power, it is a countertop appliance plugged into a regular receptacle. A full size oven has to have a 220 outlet, doesn't it? I'm not up on power use, but it certainly doesn't use the power of a regular range oven. And, it takes only a couple of minutes to heat up when baking. I baked a breakfast casserole yesterday morning.

Thanks, Ken and Teresa. I'll have to review my options.

I still want toast in 90 seconds, though!

Sorry, ChiSue. The Krups takes a good 3-5 minutes for decent toast. It does a nice job but it isn't as fast as you need. It sure does better than the old POS TO we had before.

Great feedback on TOs! I did go to BB&B with my coupon but saw only the Cuisinart Classic TO and I believe the Krups - wasn't familiar with those so decided to do some more checking before purchasing. Ken, thanks for the input on the Krups, as I haven't seen that one mentioned before.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the Cusinart 175 and 165? Is the 175 just the newer model, or is there some other difference?

We're renting a house for a few months until we find something to buy, and from all the comments, I think a good TO would really come in handy for us, especially since it's just DH and me. I'd like to pick up a good one and see how it goes with toast. If we find we need a separate toaster, we can buy that after moving.