Frugal Friday: Using the top of your toaster oven

It's been a while since I've participated in Frugal Friday - either I've had nothing to add, or I forget about it! But I figured out a little trick this week that I'd like to pass along.

The top of my toaster oven gets REALLY hot. I mean burn yourself if you touch it hot. The other day, I needed to cook some vegetables, but I had to leave the house for a while. I didn't want to leave them going on the stove, and I wouldn't be able to microwave them while I was gone. What to do, hmmm... Then I realized, why not put them on top of the toaster oven? So I put them in the bowl, covered them with a little foil (to retain the heat) and left them there while the main meal cooked in the toaster oven and I was gone.

When I got back, none of them were done through, but they had warmed up enough (these were frozen veggies) and begun cooking enough that microwaving a bit finished them off. I saved all that energy (stove or microwave) from full-length cooking by using wasted energy from the toaster oven. Not to mention saving my time and efforts and watching and stirring on a regular basis.

It won't save the world from global warming or energy pollution problems, but every bit helps - and it never hurts to have the general mindset of doing what we're able, when we're able.

Don't forget to stop by Crystal's blog for more Frugal Friday goodness!