We have a simple little Farberware countertop oven, and we love it. You see, we live in a studio loft apartment with a tiny partial kitchen, so any cooking we do must be by electric appliance. (There is no stove hookup.) Our little kitchen consists of a small double sink, a nook for a refrigerator, and a bit of countertop space with cabinets underneath. Our most important appliance is a restaurant style Bunn dual burner coffeemaker. Our second most used appliance is the Farberware oven, with 2 Nu-Wave induction burners running a close third. Fourth on the list is a Nu-Wave induction/convection oven, with a George Foreman grill placing fifth on the list, which is used quite a bit. And bringing up the rear are a couple of crockpots in varying sizes. Amazingly, we are able to prepare any dish in this makeshift kitchen of ours. We even put up pickles and apple butter, and do a lot of canning in the fall using the appliances listed. We simply switch them out, plug in the needed item, and away we go! I would recommend looking at various brands of convection ovens to get the size you need. Ours is rather small and probably wouldn't fit a large turkey or huge ham, but it works for our needs.

Jenna - I dont think I could give up my micro...My SO cannot (read: will not) cook to save his own life. Okay...so I think he could probably figure out how to heat a bowl of soup on the stove. BUT I guarantee he would: - leave on high - walk out to the garage - never stir - burn the bottom - eat only down to the burnt stuff - put in the sink and leave for ME to clean. - make peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I am not kidding. The microwave he can use....even if he does reheat a piece of pizza for 5 minutes and turns into leather! He doesn't use the TO either. The one time he tried he made chicken nuggets and tried to take the tray out without an oven mitt or even a rag! Upon getting a full grip - the pan and nuggets went flying. He picked them up started rinsing them off (Breaded nuggets!) No, no, no...beside the fact they are breaded...we have 3 cats. And I am not that good of a housekkeeper! (I made more) Sigh.

Hard to explain until you have one in hand to experiment with. I replaced my vintage double wall oven with a single side door oven and a built-in steam oven a few years ago. Controlled steam is superior for so many things as mentioned above. All veg, even a simple root veg or potato, has so much flavor. I re-heated frozen lasagna that I made last month...as good even better than when first made. We rely so heavily on roasting/crisping for flavor but often not needed. If I want that it is a quick 3-4 min under the broiler for toasting/roast flavor. Two different dishes, a protein and a rice veg, on separate trays, can steam simultaneously without crossed flavors. Even guessing at time/temp seems to be very forgiving. It does leave a bit of moisture behind that needs wiping, but leaving the door open overnight will keep any microbial mess from forming. As well as the water reservoir. For those new at steaming, leave the reservoir out of it's slot to air dry. My kitchen is tiny hobbit-like so no counter space. Niente, nada. Not even a toaster. I use the broiler. A small wall oven is so efficient and right at eye level with a big clear door.

SpeedOvens have been around for a long time. My parents bought one 30 years ago. But they always were a niche product, because of their price. They generally allow you to independently control both the microwave and the traditional heating elements. Many models also have convection and broiler, and these features can be controlled independently. It's a really neat and versatile product; definitely a huge step up from both a toaster oven and from a microwave. As often, the sum is greater than the parts. But considering the price, you have to decide for yourself whether it is sufficiently versatile to justify the cost. If I had to choose, I'd buy a combination steam oven before buying a speed oven. But if space and budget allows for both, then that's a great option. They both fill different needs. The other concern is wiring requirements. A regular 120V circuit is a bit anemic, if you want to be able to run both broiler and microwave at the same time. So, most of the nicer models require a 240V circuit. Not a big deal if you are remodeling anyway. Running a 240V circuit costs just about the same as running a 120V circuit. But if you have to make do with existing wiring, then a SpeedOven or CSO could be out of the picture.