The Brave Little Toaster Oven
I do not have an oven. Yep, believe it! I live on the island of Grenada, on the campus of St. George’s University Medical School, and we do not have an oven. You can imagine that it makes cooking a little difficult! But…we do have a TOASTER OVEN!! (And yes we packed it in our carry-on and brought it with us!! One of the best decisions we made for this move!)
As challenging as it has been, even with the small amount that I can cook or bake at a time, or the frustration of not being able to eat at the same time as my husband when only one serving can be made at once, or when it takes me 4 hours to make a batch of cookies because I can only make 4 to 6 cookies at a time, we have really come to love our little toaster oven. It is actually my husband’s prized purchase! I don’t think there is one person that we have met on the island that he hasn’t told about the toaster that we got for $20 (it really was a steal! Macys Sale!) that I make cookies and pizza and pumpkin bread in (and the list goes on)! Haha, he’s so cute! But really, I have surprised myself with what I have made in there- To add to the list from above- Quinoa bites, Cornbread, Pita Bread (most pleased about this toaster oven success so far), Oatmeal Mozzarella Chicken, Zucchini Bread, Potato Wedges, and more! Look for some of these great recipes below!! Not only has our lack of a conventional oven pushed me to be creative with meals, it has also continued to teach me patience, to be more flexible, to remember all the things I am blessed with, to have fun in this temporary lifestyle of living on a beautiful island even if we don’t have some luxuries that most people take for granted, and to continue to support my husband in his medical school journey by not complaining about every little thing that makes life a little more difficult. I never thought that our little toaster oven would make me the brave one to try new things and teach me such big lessons of life!
Here are 2 of our many favorite Toaster Oven recipes:
Bekah’s Sweet Honey Cornbread Recipe
INGREDIENTS
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cornmeal
1 ½ baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
*1 cup buttermilk
½ cup honey
*COOKING TIP: I have never bought buttermilk for this recipe! Pour 1 TBS lemon juice into the 1 Cup measuring cup. Then, fill the 1 cup with milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes then add to the recipe!
PREPARATION
1. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium to large mixing bowl.
2. Into a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, honey and melted butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir. Do not overmix!
3. Turn oven (or toaster oven!) to bake on 375˚. Spray cooking spray into an 8×8 pan or 12-cup muffin tin.
4. Pour the batter into the pan or tin and bake until slightly browned or baked all the way through, 25-30 minutes.
Oatmeal Mozzarella Chicken
INGREDIENTS
1 cup regular oats
4-6 slices of mozzarella cheese
½ cup or more of marinara sauce
2-3 chicken breast tenders
¼ tsp pepper for taste
Olive oil to brush on chicken
PREPARATION
1. Place oats in food processor and blend until coarsely ground.
2. Place chicken on the foiled tray of the toaster oven. Brush with olive oil. Add pepper for taste on each chicken tender. Pour ground oats on chicken to cover each piece. Put 1-2 pieces of mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Top with marinara sauce. Bake at 450˚ for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Have you ever travelled/moved with something that ended up being an unexpected lifesaver?
Has a kitchen device or tool ever taught you a good life lesson?
Bekah,
I am so proud of you and your “brave little toaster oven,” as you say. What a GREAT lesson in being thankful, patient and resourceful, despite your life circumstances! Fun recipes!
Your story reminds me of a time in the early 1980’s when my new husband took me overseas as well, to Mali, West Africa, for 5 years. It was one of the poorest and HOTTEST countries on the planet, and we arrived with a 16 month old baby boy, Jamie. I did have an oven, but no air conditioning in the kitchen ever and much of the time, none at all when the “énergie du Mali à coupé!” (one month we had electricity only 19 hours).
After two years, we returned to California for “home leave” before returning for another 3 years. My dear mother-in-law convinced me that I needed to take a MICROWAVE OVEN back with me to West Africa. I asked, “What’s that?” and spent about an hour walking around Costco telling her that I had survived quite well my whole life without a microwave. But, in the end, Charlotte’s persuasiveness won me over, and I purchased a little microwave, which came across the world in my sea freight many months later.
Oh, my goodness! That little microwave became a God-send. I could heat baby food in a flash, thaw frozen milk (imported from France) and do tons of things I could never do before, all without adding more heat to my unbearably HOT kitchen.
We had a wonderful nanny, D’jeneba, who worked for us and who was very smart, fluent in 3 languages, but illiterate (she had to leave school after 3rd grade because her grandfather told her to go to work). She would stand in front of the microwave, punch lots of buttons (even up to 24 hours!) and then stand there and open the door at just the right moment, with the food inside cooked to just the perfect temperature. We were ALL very grateful for such a gadget of modern age, especially in hot Mali.
Thanks for sharing your story, Bekah, and for reminding me of mine.
Betty Day
Thanks Betty!! I saw you shared my post on Facebook- can’t tell you how much we appreciate your support and enthusiasm for our blog!
Bekah,
Thank you for sharing your receipes. Please share the Quinoa Bites receipe in a future post. Always looking for new and creative ways to cook quinoa. I really appreciate your family blog. What a treasure.
Blessings,
Kim