Toaster Ovens are actually useful
The quality varies from oven to oven from what I understand, but the one I have seems to be decent. The toast is not perfect in mine, tending to be lighter on the bottom. However where it really shines is as a mini oven.
I've made pizza, spoon bread, and fishcakes that all came out close to or the same as the oven. A toaster oven also works very well for making oven fries, and they come out much crisper than the regular oven.
You can't fit a lot in a toaster oven, but since I live on my own anyway it cuts down on food waste. It forces you to cut down on portion sizes and considering most recipes feed a family of four, isn't a bad thing.
Watermelon doesn't freeze
Well, it does, but don't expect it to taste good when it comes out again. The taste is off, and it has the texture of a rubber ball. Not pleasant. A failed experiment, but now I know.
Quick doesn't mean bad
The variety of stir-fry's, pasta salads and regular salads I've had could fill a book. None are very complex, and the time is mostly spent chopping vegetables. However it's the dressings that I think make it a success. They can be sweet, savory, vinegary, spicy or creamy. You can blend two flavours together, or just use some olive oil and feta cheese.
One of my early successes has been a cold noodle salad. It was relatively easy, just cooked spaghetti (cooled under the tap), vegetables and a little leftover steak from the weekend. Topped with a peanut and soy sauce with sesame seeds, and it turned out to be a well-balanced and tasty dish.
Eggs are a great standby
Eggs are a surprisingly versatile ingredient, and not just for breakfast. A basic meal can be scrambled eggs with toast and a salad, or put an omelet with vegetables between bread and get a Western Sandwich.
For a little more fancy, though not much harder, a poached egg can go with many things as well.
An easy way to poach an egg is in the microwave. It saves time, and is much easier to clean up as well. This method I picked up from thekitchn.com, however it seems to be all over the internet as well.
You need:
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp of vinegar
Crack the egg into the water in a microwave safe bowl. Add the vinegar. Cover the bowl and microwave for 60 seconds at 80 per cent power. Check the egg, and if it doesn't look done put it back in for another 20 seconds at 80 per cent power again. Keep doing that until it is cooked the way you like it, then take it out with a slotted spoon. Done! It's better and easier than the stove in my opinion.
So what do you do with this poached egg? Many things.
Take some prosciutto and cut into bite size pieces. Add some mozzarella cheese and torn basil leaves, and put the egg on top. A tasty and quick meal is ready to go.
I'm still experimenting with what you can do with a poached egg, but suffice to say it goes well with a lot of things.
When all else fails though, there is no shame in a bowl of cereal. Add some fruit and nuts to the bowl, and it works great cold meal on a hot day.
