Making Cookies in a Toaster Oven

Last week I wanted some home made cookies. I had all the ingredients for my cookies but I just hated to heat up my gas oven. I had not turned on the A/C yet for the season, did not want to heat up the house and I did not want to use any gas I did not have to. I decided to try and find a small toaster oven at the next yard sale or thrift shop.

So a few days later, I was at a charity run shop and, lo and behold, there was a pretty nice toaster oven for $5. It was not greasy or dirty. However, I was not sure it would even work. I hesitated a few minutes and then decided to give it a shot and pay the $5. I took it home plugged it in and it worked! I then proceeded to clean it up and make it look nice on my counter.

People laugh at me for saving stuff that normally would be thrown away, however, my "saving stuff" paid off for me. I could not get the removable baking sheet to the oven as shiny as I wanted so I dug into my saved disposable aluminum pie pans, roasting pans, etc. and found a large piece that I could cut down to size. I did not want to use foil as I knew it would not hold up as well as a nice thick piece of aluminum would. I cut my pan to fit the baking sheet and put it in the oven. It looks like a new oven!

I then proceeded to make my small batch of cookies and it worked out perfect. No hot kitchen, no expensive toaster oven! All for $5 and a little ingenuity! My friends can laugh all they want but the jokes on them!

Now, what have you done lately that was frugal, thrifty and enhanced the quality of your life?