Over the past few weeks we’ve been compiling a list of the best appliances to take along to your dorm room and a few recipes you can whip up with each of them. We’ve looked at rice cookers, slow cookers, and microwaves, and this week we’re going to head into toaster territory and explore why you should bring a toaster oven with you when you go back to school.
Why bring a toaster oven along when you go back to school? Besides the obvious fact that you can make those midnight grilled cheese sandwiches in a snap, a toaster oven can help take the place of a microwave if your dorm won’t allow you to have one.
To really get the most out of your toaster oven, you’ll need to choose one like the Breville Smart Oven Convection Toaster that comes complete with pizza and baking sheet or the Panasonic Flash Xpress Double Infared Toaster Oven. You can also bring along a few kitchen supplies like a muffin tin and a set of 4 ramekins.
There so many different recipes you can make with a toaster oven that you’ll have breakfast, lunch/dinner, and snacks completely covered. Here are a few ideas you can try with your toaster oven.
Mini Breakfast Pizzas
Who wants to eat cold cereal every single day? A hot breakfast can make all the difference in how your day goes, especially when you’ve got a big test or you know you have to study for hours. This Mini Breakfast pizza recipe is easy to make and so delicious. Recipe from bhg.com. Photo from eatingwell.com.
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Ingredients: 4 eggs, beaten 1/3 cup pizza sauce 2 English muffins, split, toasted 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (2 oz.) Oregano leaves |
Directions
HEAT oven to 450 degrees F. COAT large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot.
POUR IN eggs. As eggs begin to set, GENTLY PULL the eggs across the pan with an inverted turner, forming large soft curds. CONTINUE cooking — pulling, lifting and folding eggs until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Do not stir constantly. REMOVE from heat.
SPREAD pizza sauce evenly on muffin halves; place on baking sheet. TOP with eggs and cheese, dividing evenly.
BAKE in 450 degrees F oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. SPRINKLE with oregano.
Pizzas can be baked in toaster oven at 450 degrees F until cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
Toaster Oven Tex Mex Quesadilla 
This recipe from Goodhousekeeping.com is amazing, and it’s one of those recipes you might make in the dorm room for lunch or dinner to serve to friends coming over to hang out.
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Ingredients: 2 green onions 2 c. shredded skinless rotisserie chicken meat 1.50 c. Shredded Monterey Jack cheese 1 pickled jalapeño chile 0.25 c. fresh cilantro leaves 4 burrito-size flour tortillas 0.75 c. salsa verde 0.50 c. reduced-fat sour cream |
Directions
Preheat toaster oven to 425°F. Thinly slice green onions; reserve 2 tablespoons dark green tops for garnish.
Evenly divide chicken, cheese, jalapeño, cilantro, and remaining green onion on one side of each tortilla; fold other half over.
In single layer on foil-lined toaster oven tray (working in batches if necessary), toast quesadillas 8 to 10 minutes, or until tortillas are golden brown and cheese is melted.
Cut each quesadilla in half. Serve with salsa verde, plus sour cream if you like; sprinkle with reserved green onions.
Toaster Oven Apple Crisp
You know those ramekins I told you to get for your toaster oven? They come in handy during the cold winter months when you’re craving apple crisp. Yes, you can make it in a toaster oven, and if you have 4 ramekins, you might even want to share with your roommate. Recipe from caloriecount.com. Photo from notyouraveragecollegefood.com.
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Ingredients: 4 Medium apples 1 ½ Tsp lemon juice 1 ½ Tsp cinnamon 1 ½ Tbsp. flour 2 Tbsp. brown sugar ¼ cup oats 2 Tsp water 1 Tsp unsalted butter |
Directions
Peel and chop apples, then toss with lemon juice, a little cinnamon, and a little brown sugar.
Mix remaining cinnamon and brown sugar with flour and granola.
Spread apples in whatever baking dish fits in the toaster oven. Spread topping over.
Sprinkle water over crisp, then dot with small pieces of butter.
Bake in toaster oven (or regular oven) at 350 until top is browned and apples are soft, with juices bubbling, approximately 45 minutes in my toaster oven.
As you can see, a toaster oven is one of those appliances with super powers, taking you from breakfast to snack time in a flash. If you have a favourite toaster oven recipe, share it in the comments. And don’t forget to check out all of the toaster ovens available on Bestbuy.ca. Here are a few of my favourites:
 The Breville Toaster Oven can cook almost anything |
 You get double infared heating with the FlashXpress toaster oven from Panasonic. |
 The Hamilton Beach Toaster Oven is a Bestbuy.ca customer favourite |
Main image from ovenreviewshq.com
