Dorm Essentials: The Toaster Oven

With the majority of the country’s colleges starting school this week, I thought I’d take some time to drop a little piece of helpful advice. I’m aiming this primarily at freshmen, or those who are moving into an on-or-off campus apartment for the first time.

               

 Get a toaster oven. Seriously, do it. These are one of the most versatile appliances money can buy, and as a busy college student, you’ll love it. Toaster ovens can be used for all sorts of things: you can roast a chicken, warm up some leftovers, or make some delicious, homemade toasted sandwiches. Forget about Quiznos! Pro-tip: for those of truly entrepreneurial spirits, you can open up a dorm-room sandwich shop! Most dorms don’t allow this though, so you’ll have to be shady about it.

               

There’re a whole plethora of delicious toaster oven recipes you can find online if you want to put a little time in, but that’s only an added bonus for me. The best thing about toaster ovens are that they offer the convenience of a microwave, yet make your food exponentially more delicious! Heating up some bagel bites, but don’t have time to put them in the oven? Toss ‘em in the toaster oven for delectable crispiness in only a few minutes. Want to heat up some left over pizza, but don’t want it to get soggy in the microwave? Put it in the toaster oven and twist the knob; I’ve documented more than one case in which the pizza was actually better after heating it in the toaster oven than it was originally.

               

I love toaster ovens because you can get creative with pretty much anything on-hand, and have it near-consistently turn out delicious every time. If you find yourself with a gang of friends over after a night of drinking, you can take some bread, cheese, and sandwich meat and toss it in the toaster oven. Even the simplest of creations will come out warm and toasty, which is often a welcome relief to the late-night revelers. Some of my *ahem* inspired creations have been Eggo-waffle pizza, cheesy pesto bread, and cheesy garlic naan (yes, I like cheese).

                 

You can even use them to make fancier, real meals. A toaster oven can essentially do whatever an oven can do without using nearly as much energy, which is great if you’re responsible for paying utilities. The only downside is that it’s too small to fit a lot of things, but there are some great toaster oven recipes you can find online if you want to put a little more time into your meal.

             

I hope you take my advice and get one of these! You can get a basic one (that’s all you need, really) for as cheap as $40. If you have any great toaster oven recipes, share ‘em below in the comments, and please subscribe!