Nancy I think that you will love your new Toaster Oven.

I have had the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven for at least 7 years and it gets used on a daily basis. Mostly for toast though. That is really what I bought it for. I very seldom bake in it now because I also have a small Waring convection oven.

Ann

Nancy that sounds good. I'll bet you do find lots of uses for it. Just think smaller dishes to cook casseroles and such in. Like using a brownie pan for a small lasagna and such. I have a lot of smaller baking dishes that would be perfect sized for a toaster oven. Individual casseroles and such too.

Nancy I'm wondering if it would be worth it to try to find a local organic farm that sells pigs/pork. Maybe you could try checking out the local CSA places and see if anyone knows who might have pork for sale.

Here is a link that might be useful: Local Harvest CSA's

An addition to your toaster oven meals... When I relied on a toaster oven a lot, I would portion breads like dinner rolls, cornbread or muffins two per foil sheet and keep them in the freezer. I buy pre-cut foil sheets in a pop-up dispenser box at Sam's Club just for this purpose. They are the perfect size for the task. The breads can be added the last 10-15 minutes of baking time for a "nearly fresh" hot bread for your toaster oven dinner.

As already mentioned, some good small baking pans and dishes will help a lot. A 6-muffin pan is great to have as well. You can cut a 12-muffin recipe in half and make just six muffins. Bake meatloaf in the muffin pan for individual portions. Small cakes and brownies can be baked in loaf pans. I often found these recipes in cookbooks designed for cooking for one or two people; and those books work great for small portions that are perfect for toaster oven preparation.

WALNUT FUDGE BROWNIES
(Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cooking For Two)

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, cut up
3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 recipe Cocoa Glaze (optional)

1. Line a 9x5.3-inch loaf pan with foil, extending foil over ends. Grease foil; set pan aside. In a small saucepan stir together sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat; cool for 5 minutes.

2. Add the egg and vanilla to cocoa mixture. Using a wooden spoon, beat lightly just until combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in walnuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

3. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Using the ends of foil, lift brownies out of pan. If desired, frost with Cocoa Glaze. Cut into triangles.

Cocoa Glaze: In a small bowl combine 1/2 c. powdered sugar, 1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 T. softened butter, and 1/4 t. vanilla. Beat in enough hot water (2-4 T.) to make a glaze of spreading consistency.
------------------------------------------------

Here are some recipes from Better Homes and Gardens TOASTER OVEN Cookbook you might find helpful. Check your local library for toaster oven cookbooks. I have another one that has really great recipes, "The Gourmet Toaster Oven" by Lynn Alley.

Foil-wrapped dinners also work well in a toaster oven. If you've never used the new RELEASE Reynolds Wrap (non-stick foil), foil-wrapped dinners is a great use for this product. You can Google recipes for those - Reynolds Wrap has a bunch of them.

CHICKEN a l'ORANGE

2 chicken thighs
1 T. dry white wine
2 t. brown sugar
2 t. sliced green onion
1 t. finely shredded orange peel
1/8 t. dried rosemary, crushed

Place chicken thighs on a 12x12-inch piece of foil. Turn up edges of foil. Combine wine, brown sugar, onion, orange peel, and rosemary; spoon over chicken thighs. Bring up sides of foil, folding twice to seal, seal ends. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove from foil packet to serve. Serves 1.
----------------------------------------------

BARBECUE CHICKEN

4 chicken drumsticks
2 T. catsup
2 T. water
1 t. vinegar
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 c. finely crushed corn chips

Place chicken drum sticks in shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered in a 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Combine catsup, water, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over chicken. Turn chicken pieces to coat evenly with sauce. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with cheese and corn chips; return to oven. Bake for 3-5 minutes more. Serves 2.
------------------------------------------------

COCONUT-MOLASSES MUFFINS

1 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. shortening (or butter)
1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. light molasses
1/2 c. flaked coconut

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger and salt. Cut in shortening/butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg, milk, and molasses. Add to dry ingredients; stir just till moistened. Fold in coconut. Line muffin pan with paper bake cups; fill 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

There are a lot more recipes at the link below. Happy toaster oven meals...

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Toaster Oven Recipes

Nancy, next time try rubbing your pork chop with a good seasoning blend (I like the Ozark seasoning from Penzey's), sear it in a small oven-proof skillet, then bake off the pork chop in the TO. I do this with pork chops and bone-in chicken breast all the time. The last 15 minutes of cooking the chicken, I drizzle some BBQ sauce on. Very tasty.

A small fritatta is easy in the toaster oven: saute some chopped vegetables in olive oil; put the veg in a greased small pie plate or oven-proof pasta bowl and top with some grated cheese; beat 4 eggs with s&p and hot sauce, pour over the vegetables and bake in the TO at 350 for 20-30 minutes until eggs are set.

For breads, I bake in the TO at the same temp and time as in a larger oven; just check for doneness until you are more familiar with baking in the TO. I've even cranked up the TO as high on bake as it will go and baked a homemade pizza on 4 clay tiles set on the rack. Lars taught me I could do this!

Google search for "cooking for one or two" recipes and you will find a lot of ideas. Be on the lookout for a small cast iron skillet if you don't have one. They are great for doing a single serving of roasted vegetables or baking a single chop or a couple of pieces of chicken and you can use the skillet on your stove top as well. And I bake cornbread in mine - 3/4 cup cornmeal mix, 1 TB sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk and a couple TBs of hot bacon drippings.

I found a heavy 7"x11" pan by Martha Stewart at K-Mart that fits my TO perfectly. Look for small Corningware and Pyrex casseroles that will fit in your TO.

Be aware that the broiling feature of your Cusinart TO is good to have, but it can make a mess of the inside of the TO if you are broiling a piece of meat that can splatter. I love to bake fish in a shallow au gratin dish. Some of these dishes I found at dollar stores for only 2-3 dollars each.

I always say that I could easily do without a microwave, but I know I can't go even one week without a toaster oven.

Teresa