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My question is realistically - for a family of 2-3 people, what can a full size oven cook that can't be cooked in a toaster oven big enough to hold two large pizzas?
It seems that some folks are having trouble accepting that many people simply don't do a lot of baking and will never have a desire to do so.
My mom had a toaster oven in the garage which she insisted we use for everything except Thanksgiving dinner. I guess she was ahead of her time She was always surprised at how many wonderful things I was able to bake "in the toaster oven" while she was at work. Cookies, pies, cupcakes, muffins, rolls, loaves of bread, casseroles, baked chicken, etc. When I moved out, she tried to make some of those things but her toaster oven mainly just charred the outside and undercooked the insides. She decided the toaster oven was old, and replaced it with one with a convection option. Still didn't get the same results I got. She went through a couple of toaster ovens after that. She finally gave up and now she comes over and eats my cooking whenever she can. The rest of the time she and my dad eat at McDonald's twice a day.
My secret? Using the regular oven in the house, which she insisted was too expensive to run. She never noticed a difference on her utility bill, or too much heat in the house, the other thing she thought would happen. I would take the grill pan from the toaster oven, cover it with foil, smear some of whatever I'd cooked on the foil, and put the food on it so she thought it cooked in there, then wash the dish or baking sheet I'd actually used before she got home.
I'm just wondering how practical this would be. Most of the remodeling shows make it seem like everyone is a master chef that needs a huge commercial oven. My girlfriend and I are far from it. Heck, in my family, I only know of one aunt that likes to bake a lot. Most of us are on the go too much to spend hours in the kitchen. When we do use the oven, it's never for anything bigger than a medium/large pizza. Once in a blue moon we'll make a small batch of brownies or cookies. We use our cooktop/microwave a lot and we eat out 3-4x/week. The only meals we could possibly have time to prepare in the oven are on the weekends, but who wants to spend any part of the weekend in the kitchen? Now for those with 5-6+ people in the house, sure - a large oven is probably needed.
One can buy a very large toaster oven for $100 that's big enough to cook two large pizzas or even a whole chicken. Therefore, it seems like for many people a huge oven is a waste of space. Aesthetically, it seems like all the nice looking ovens are over $1000. That's a lot to pay for something that's rarely used, prone to breaking and expensive to fix. IMO, eliminating the oven also gives the kitchen a cleaner more streamlined appearance.
What say you?
I haven't read the whole thread, so this may have already been mentioned.
In some states, you cannot legally sell a house without a stove/oven. Hence, why you see people taking their refrigerator, but not their stove.
At this point I'm just arguing the theoretical viability of going with a larger toaster oven compared to conventional. I'm guessing a pretty high percentage of people rarely cook more than a toaster oven's capacity. If smaller homes keep gaining in popularity, we may see more people trying to maximize their space and only having things they fully use.
Well, if you buy a tiny home maybe only a toaster oven is a smarter idea. Otherwise, as you can tell, a high percentage of people think the idea of doing away with an oven is pretty short sighted and unnecessarily limiting, but a high percentage of people also think it's your kitchen and your money and your house to sell one day so do as you please.
Perhaps someone just doesn't want to have something they don't use? It's as good a reason as any.
Why is it a PITA to design cabinets to where a wall oven can easily slip in later? Most homes will already have the gas line or 220v so you simply remove a few doors and slip in an oven.
You go ahead and do what you want. I think you'd be sorry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Oh brother, who cares? It's your kitchen - if you want to paint it in purple polka dots and hang a Christmas tree upside down in the middle of it all year long, go for it. You're obviously not really interested in what other people think about it - you just want to argue your position.
My question is realistically - for a family of 2-3 people, what can a full size oven cook that can't be cooked in a toaster oven big enough to hold two large pizzas?
It seems that some folks are having trouble accepting that many people simply don't do a lot of baking and will never have a desire to do so.
Boil water for pasta, rice, oatmeal, eggs, etc
Sautee and stir fry veggies, proteins
Omelets and other egg dishes
I could go on forever.
Hey...whatever works for you...but you asked for a list...
My GF and I often go out to eat for about $12-15. I'm sure we could make more food by cooking, but we don't like the hassle....the heat, waiting, scrubing pots and pans, etc. If it ends up costing each of us an extra $30-40/month to eat out when we want a big meal, so be it. We don't drink or blow money on anything else so going out to eat is our way of unwinding, getting out of the house and spending time together. Regardless, if we did decide to cook it wouldn't require more than a stovetop and toaster over.
That seems very very un-frugal, IMHO. Anyone who has seen your other posts would probably agree.
So you do this 2x/month and it saves THAT MUCH of a hassle?
In my neck of the woods, $12-15 for two, especially if it includes tax/tip, is hardly something I would consider a fun way of, as you put it, "unwinding, getting out of the house and spending time together." Absolutely nothing wrong with it, mind you, but places I can eat for that much $$ aren't terribly relaxing for me. And for that $$ I could make a pretty good meal for two and relax at home and probably have a little leftover for lunch the next day.
Interesting how now you blend in a stovetop into your discussion...
Hey...whatever works for you...but you asked for a list...
Well, strictly speaking, those are cooked on the stovetop, not the oven. And since it does cost $100 more to get a range (oven/stove combo), minus how much the extra 30 inches of countertop costs. It could save him up to $50 to leave the oven space empty! Fifty dollars!!!
Well, strictly speaking, those are cooked on the stovetop, not the oven. And since it does cost $100 more to get a range (oven/stove combo), minus how much the extra 30 inches of countertop costs. It could save him up to $50 to leave the oven space empty! Fifty dollars!!!
Which he could recoup eating at home a couple of times - possibly even using that dreaded oven!
I have a 4 burner cooktop...the oven is built into the cabinets.
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She was always surprised at how many wonderful things I was able to bake "in the toaster oven" while she was at work. Cookies, pies, cupcakes, muffins, rolls, loaves of bread, casseroles, baked chicken, etc. When I moved out, she tried to make some of those things but her toaster oven mainly just charred the outside and undercooked the insides. She decided the toaster oven was old, and replaced it with one with a convection option. Still didn't get the same results I got. She went through a couple of toaster ovens after that. She finally gave up and now she comes over and eats my cooking whenever she can. The rest of the time she and my dad eat at McDonald's twice a day.
