Gets so much use at our home!

Recently we upgraded our toaster oven to the Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven which we purchased at Canadian Tire. We’ve had it about 3 months now and I have to say it’s a joy to use. Having an option which doesn’t involve heating up the main oven for baking smaller items is important. I believe the toaster oven saves on electricity costs though I haven’t done a cost analysis at all, it just makes sense. Besides making toast, I’ve always used my toaster oven for heating up left over foods, making toast and preparing frozen dishes. Using the microwave isn’t always the best option with some foods. When making toast I like to be able to see the progress as it annoys me when the toast comes out too dark or burnt and the pop up toasters don’t always work the way they’re supposed to.
The Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven rack has three positions and on the door they clearly mark what position is best for what you are cooking. It’s important to change the rack position before you start to preheat the oven. The middle rack has a magnet which attaches to the door. Once you open the door the rack pulls out with the door to make the hot food easier to remove. There are three adjusting knobs on this oven. The first knob allows you to choose your mode, such as pizza, toast, baking or roasting as well as convection. The second knob is for selecting your temperature setting and the third knob is for adjusting your time. Once you have chosen your mode the oven will prompt you to enter more information such as what size is the pizza or how many pieces of bread are you toasting. Based on your preferences the oven will have a pre-selected time and temperature but you can always adjust to suit. When you select your mode, temp and time the oven will then preheat and beep once it is ready for your food to be inserted in to the oven. When the pre selected time is up the oven will then beep and shut off to remind you your food is ready. It’s easy to add more time if needed.
As far as looks the Breville Compact Smart Toaster Oven is a sharp looking appliance and I do enjoy seeing it on my counter. It can bake a 12 inch pizza so it is quite large and comes in handy as a second oven when entertaining. There is a bottom crumb catcher tray that pulls out for easy cleaning and is very simple to use. Another small feature about the plug is that it has a pull finger hole that makes it so easy to pull out the plug when the oven is not in use. I think more appliances should copy this design. The only cons I have is that there is no oven light so I find that I am having to use my phone flashlight to see the progress of my cooking. Also, it’s not the least expensive toaster oven option out there.