Well, be prepared to have your mind blown. Not only is your toaster oven good for so much more, but it’ll also help you feel like a badass eco warrior since it uses a fraction of the energy required to power your actual oven (about 750 watts versus 3,000 watts). Here, six recipes that’ll make your toaster oven earn its place on your kitchen counter. DIY Dried Dill Take this spice rack staple to gourmet proportions by making your own. Whether you’ve got a surplus of dill from your backyard garden or you buy bunches of it at the farmers’ market, turn whatever you don’t use in that cucumber salad into a dried herb you’ll sprinkle into recipes year-round with this easy recipe by Don’t Waste the Crumbs. Simply line the toaster oven sheet with parchment paper and place washed and dried dill (minus the stems) in a single layer. Turn the oven on the lowest setting possible and check on the dill every 15 minutes. Single-Serving Peanut Butter Cookie There’s nothing like a freshly-baked cookie when your sweet tooth strikes, and a homemade one is a heck of a lot better than anything you’ll get in a bag or a box. The problem, of course, is that most cookie recipes yield dozens of warm, gooey goodness—and unless you’ve got supernatural willpower, there’s not a hope you’ll stop after just one. Enter this recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie, which makes just one or two cookies and calls for healthier ingredients than the usual suspects. MORE: These DIY Granola Bars are Junk-Free and 100% Delicious Broiled Grapefruit When the blogger behind The Curvy Carrot bought herself a little brulee torch, she scorched the top of a lightly-sugared grapefruit and came up with a super-tasty dessert stand-in. No brulee torch? No problem. That’s where your toaster oven comes in. Homemade Granola The next time you have weekend guests, wow them with a batch of your very own homemade granola. Heck, thanks to this simple recipe from The Underground Kitchen, you could even whip it up while you’re all sitting around sipping coffee. Serve it warm, of course. Garlic Kale Chips Sure, maybe they’ve been shoved out of the superfood spotlight by chia seed pudding and activated charcoal shots, but kale chips are still an A+ recplacement for potato chips. The next time you get a hankering for something crispy, try this quick kale chips recipe from Healthy Cents. MORE: Gluten-Free Kale Donuts: The Best Thing Ever? Baked Bananas Potassium-packed bananas are a fantastic, portable snack. However, for those times when you want to do something more than just peel and eat, try this easy recipe from Living Healthy, Loving Me, which transforms the fruit into a super-healthy sweet treat. Our favorite take: Slice a banana after baking and use to top a batch of buckwheat pancakes or even mix into a cup of plain Greek yogurt.
