Friday, October 17, 2008

10 Toaster-Oven Dinners for Hectic Weeknights

After a crazy day at work, the thought of turning on the stove can be overwhelming, but the toaster oven is so unimposing and so friendly. Here are 10 yummy recipes, good for one or two people, where you can easily sub the toaster oven for your baking, melting, or broiling.

Note: If you're partial to your microwave, you can use it to heat ingredients, but when it comes to melting cheese or heating bread, stick to your toaster oven.

1. English Muffin Mini Pizzas
The perfect size for your mini oven. Toast the muffin, then add toppings and melt on the "broil," or hottest, setting.

2. Classic Tuna Melt
No need to use that big broiler. Use your handy dandy toaster oven to brown the bread, then add contents open-face to melt the cheese.

3. Loaded Potato
Cook your potato for 1 hour in the toaster, then load it up.

4. NYC Dog
Yup, you can cook your dogs in the toaster oven. Split them lengthwise down the center, lay them upside down and broil in the toaster for 10 minutes.

5. "Grilled" Ham & Cheese w/ Pineapple
Instead of firing up the skillet, toast both pieces of bread lightly (with or without butter), then add the ham, cheese, and pineapple and toaster broil briefly.

6. Vegetarian Taco Salad
The secret ingredient is Boca chili. Heat it in a little cup right in the toaster oven.

7. The Real Reuben
Toast the bread, then add the contents open-face and close after melting.

8. Zucchini, Corn, Black Bean & Cheese Quesadillas
Grease a small baking sheet and feel free to chop up and use any veggies or meat you have in the fridge or freezer. Leave the tortilla open until the melting is done.

9. Baked Steak Burritos
Do all the baking in the toaster and even skip the microwave by baking the beans in a thin layer directly on the tortilla.

10. Open-Faced Southwest Turkey Melt
Another meltdown for the littler broiler.

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