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Is a toaster oven worth it?

maleonolo

Active Member
My dad insults and punches me whenever he sees me so I don't like spending time outside my room. I can cook carbs quickly because of oatmeal and pressure cookers but meat requires using a pan in the kitchen for about 30min.


I keep a fridge in my room and am planning to buy a small pressure cooker and maybe an oven so I won't have to leave my room except to wash my dishes.

Using the toaster oven, I can simply place the meat on a plate, add some salt/spices and wait for a while. Not using a pan also means that I can spend less time outside washing stuff. If I use this (small) oven will I be able to do most of my cooking in my own room?
 
I never use my toaster oven for anything except what it implies, to toast and heat mainly breads. If the one you are thinking about is anything like mine, it would not cook raw meats to the point of safety without making them too hard and tough.
Some pre-cooked meats or bacon can be cooked in a microwave oven.
Many things can be heated or cooked in a microwave. I use mine every
day for some things.
Air fryers are a good multi-purpose way to cook also if you don't have use of a stove top or regular stove oven.

I'm really sorry to hear how your dad treats you. It's abuse.
The type of abuse I would never put up with personally. I would seek intervention for help from a social worker or the government help offered before being physically punched. I do wish you the best and hope you can find some help for your situation.
 
Some pre-cooked meats or bacon can be cooked in a microwave oven.
Many things can be heated or cooked in a microwave. I use mine every
day for some things.
Air fryers are a good multi-purpose way to cook also if you don't have use of a stove top or regular stove oven.
Hello, thanks for your reply. I'm thinking of getting a small oven or an air fryer (which I've heard is just a toaster oven with a powerful fan)

My chest freezer can be converted into a fridge by turning the temperature knob (but it can only be one or the other). I don't like using my family's 2-in-1 fridge because my stuff disappears. That's why I had a microwave initially, to defrost stuff from my freezer. Pre-cooked stuff seems more expensive and unhealthy so my microwave hasn't been used as much as I had hoped

I managed to cook a cup of pasta in my microwave today! It tasted good. I could get protein from beans, but I might get malnutrition if I eat the same stuff every day (not that I could). Chickpeas sound good too

I hope I can find a decent air-fryer for less than $80 that can cook meat
 
I bought myself an oven style air fryer and I'm really happy with it. I use it nearly every day. Cheap to buy, cheap on electricity to run, and easy to clean and look after. Most things only take 12 to 15 minutes to cook straight from the freezer.

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I bought myself an oven style air fryer and I'm really happy with it. I use it nearly every day. Cheap to buy, cheap on electricity to run, and easy to clean and look after. Most things only take 12 to 15 minutes to cook straight from the freezer.
Looks great! Seems compact too, would probably fit in my room
 
Looks great! Seems compact too, would probably fit in my room
About the same size as a microwave, but taller. Opens up a whole new part of the frozen foods section for you too, chicken nuggets, spring rolls, hot chips, dumplings and dim sims.
 
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Perhaps something like this in the link below?? A covered fry pan would be better to cook meats? I'd think a toaster oven would dry meat out.
Consider that when you cook in a bedroom, that you are limited to maximum 19 amps of that electrical circuit in the USA. That circuit may be shared by another room. So using ONLY one electrical cooking appliance at a time would avoid tripping the circuit breaker.

https://www.amazon.com/Karinear-Electric-Countertop-Over-Temperature-Protection/dp/B0BPLJLJBH?crid=D3TVOR53BZED&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Qa3RzPGKOSFtou_0WQW35KSEy0xH-O2zNNrCkairnRQvKGuU3uqkLI934flzkL2BKnRz90ZcIaH8YQsAmOugItGU5sWloQSS8w_xU3L7SPfZfBoyCEA4vAmkrJhCV59Dn4Zqu38PIaIsR-5lMzmE_fY0BdcctJpnqFurj0Nr25U0f7GWV6pJ9bjfVWsZLLFL41k4kKPsrqEa88C5vxh8oFpX_beCr7ssd2ElCt9IuWU.3gj7gnW-SkK6B7Z-XsWU9Zu0dlla8letdQrn560meWw&dib_tag=se&keywords=2+burner+electric+cooktop+110v,+120v+plug+in+electric+stove+top&qid=1757676033&sprefix=120v+plug+in+cooktop+burner,aps,441&sr=8-4&th=1
 
Hello, thanks for your reply. I'm thinking of getting a small oven or an air fryer (which I've heard is just a toaster oven with a powerful fan)

My chest freezer can be converted into a fridge by turning the temperature knob (but it can only be one or the other). I don't like using my family's 2-in-1 fridge because my stuff disappears. That's why I had a microwave initially, to defrost stuff from my freezer. Pre-cooked stuff seems more expensive and unhealthy so my microwave hasn't been used as much as I had hoped

I managed to cook a cup of pasta in my microwave today! It tasted good. I could get protein from beans, but I might get malnutrition if I eat the same stuff every day (not that I could). Chickpeas sound good too

I hope I can find a decent air-fryer for less than $80 that can cook meat
Your protein intake will be ok if you eat a legume (beans, peas, lentils) and a grain (wheat, rice, barley) together at the same meal.

I’m sorry you are being abused. No one should have to put up with that. Maybe you could start by making a plan to move out.
 
Your protein intake will be ok if you eat a legume (beans, peas, lentils) and a grain (wheat, rice, barley) together at the same meal.
I tried cooking peas in the microwave just now and it was quite good actually, no salt or anything
Perhaps something like this in the link below?? A covered fry pan would be better to cook meats? I'd think a toaster oven would dry meat out.

Hmm probably not. I think an air fryer/oven would be slightly easier to clean since I could eat directly from the plate or even the drawer. If I had another pan to wash I'd have to stay in the kitchen longer. Carrying a conspicuous pan in and out of my room might annoy them too, not to mention that the air fryer's cooking is more automatic. I'll think about it
 
Hmm probably not. I think an air fryer/oven would be slightly easier to clean since I could eat directly from the plate or even the drawer. If I had another pan to wash I'd have to stay in the kitchen longer. Carrying a conspicuous pan in and out of my room might annoy them too, not to mention that the air fryer's cooking is more automatic. I'll think about it
A sandwich press does a beautiful steak, better than a pan because it sears both sides at once. Also easy to clean.

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If I use this (small) oven will I be able to do most of my cooking in my own room?

You're asking a "loaded question" on two different levels. Since no one has thought of what I have to say, I feel compelled to weigh in pointing out some other things besides food preparation.

1) The amount of heat involved, and the electrical draw of so many appliances from a bedroom as opposed to a kitchen, which was designed to safely take so much power compared to a bedroom.

Serious cooking within a bedroom is an inherently bad idea given the combustion load of so many personal possessions normally contained in a bedroom as opposed to a kitchen. Cloth and paper in particular, along with other things. And an elevated possibility of overloading your home's electrical system given the draw of so much electricity from one small room not designed for it. A seriously bad combination of concerns that can potentially lead to an unintended fire.

2) The kind of food you eat that can be prepared under more limited conditions.

That's up to your sense of taste. A microwave oven can be great at cooking a number of things, but IMO meat is most definitely not one of them. Where you have to opt for a "hot plate" (another major fire exposure outside the kitchen) or perhaps as others suggested, an air fryer. But again, both put out an extreme amount of heat not intended for use in a bedroom.

Then throw in a refrigerator on all the time, and a computer and monitor...and anything else beyond cooking appliances. A recipe for disaster in a bedroom, particularly if it's a small one. That you shouldn't be concerned with what hot foods you can prepare in any bedroom, but rather whether you should be doing such a thing at all.

If you intend to proceed regardless of the fire exposure, at the very least you should have cookware that is the most heat resistant, as well as cooking surfaces involving granite, quartzite, and porcelain. Preferably close to 1.5" thick. Materials that are inherently heat-resistant.

But after pointing all this out, my best pitch is simple: "Don't go there". Having a refridgerator in a bedroom alone is probably as far as you should push such an electrical and combustion load in a bedroom. Beyond that, adding high-heat appliances to the equation is just plain "risky business".

Sorry, but as a long-time former insurance underwriter, I can't let this slide. Probably the best thing under such circumstances would be to make that plan on moving out to live under better- and safer circumstances. Where you can cook what you like, when you like in your own kitchen.
 
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