sskoshi's Full Review: Back to Basics TEM-500 Egg & Muffin 2-Slice Toaste...
My husband likes to have egg and cheese sandwiches. He usually just cooks the egg in the microwave using a dinner bowl. Leaving the stuck on egg for me to clean up. After purchasing new dishes, I made it clear that no eggs were to be cooked in my dinner bowls, and I bought him the Back to Basics Egg & Muffin Toaster
In the Box
The toaster comes complete with the toasing unit which has a metal cup on one side for cooking the egg and meat, then it has a plasic hard boiling rack/steaming rack, the egg pan, the meat tray, and the lid, it also comes with a measureing cup that has a pin on one end for poking the egg shell. In with the directions there were some recipes also.
The toaster looks stylish with its black body and silver/grey face and accessories. The toaster has 3 buttons on it, 1 to cook just toast, 1 for the toast and egg, and a cancel button. The toaster also has the locking lever, which is really just the device that lowers the toast into the toaster. The toaster / egg cooker will not work until you press down on the locking device.
All the attachments/pieces are dishwasher safe in the top rack (except of course for the toaster itself).
What it Does and How it works
It toasts English Muffins, Bagels, bread, croissants, pretty much everything that needs toasting. It has the regular toasting features - choose the darkness of your bread with a sliding darkness indicator, bread goes into the top slots.
The only thing different with this as a toaster is you have to press a button to indicate what you wish to do - Toast only or Toast and Egg. After you select your option, you press down the locking device which lowers the bread into the toaster.
It hard boils, soft boils, and poaches eggs. First you add a pre-measured amount of water. The unit comes with a measuring cup with fill line indicators on it based upon what kind of egg you want... Hard boiled egg, fill to this line, soft poached, fill to this line, etc... Add the water to the metallic bowl on the side of the toaster, then put on the steamer basket (small black basket with a bunch of wholes in it). Then spray non-stick cooking spray into the egg cooker (it looks like a miniature frying pan), add an egg, and stack it in the steamer basket. If you don't want meat, you just press the Egg and Toast button, lock the device - and about 5-10 minutes later you have all the ingredients for a hot breakfast sandwhich.
It warms pre-cooked meats such as bacon, canadian bacon, sausage patties, etc... If you want to add meat, you just add it to the meat basket, one basket above the egg cooker. then add the top. You still only have to press the egg and toast button.
The toaster is designed to cook everything in a sequence to be done at the same time as the toast. You just add the ingredients and step back, it does the rest.
This toaster basically makes your breakfast meal while you get dressed. All you have to do is assemble it. The machine is very simple to use.
Pros
This toaster takes up so little room if you compare it to what you would need otherwise. If you were to attempt making a bacon, egg, and cheese english muffin sandwich you would need a frying pan for the egg and meat, a toaster with big enough slots for english muffins, and then the utensils it would take to cook everything. This toaster does it all and is not much bigger than a regular toaster.
Since you are making your own breakfast meal, it can be healthier than the local fast food chain. It doesn't require butter or anything else for frying the meat and egg, you can pick the type of cheese you want and the type of bread you want. I dare anyone to go into the local Fast food chain and ask for a Turkey Bacon, Egg and Swiss cheese on a Whole wheat bagel... don't think you will find that.
The tempurature of everything when it is done cooking is quite hot, you do need to let everything cool down enough to eat without burning yourself. I put this in the Pro's because I know it is cooking the egg well since it gets this hot, and it is much better than having a cold/undercooked sandwich.
Cons
I have only had this unit a few short weeks, so I am unsure of how durable it is, but so far it has impressed me and I haven't found any flaws yet.
My personal Experience
So far I have toasted Whole wheat english muffins, whole wheat toast, and whole wheat bagels - Every slice came out of the toaster just the way I wanted it, and without any problems.
I have used Pre-cooked canadian bacon, Bacon, and pork sausage patties, again with no problems. I have even noticed that since the toaster is actually heating the meats by steam, they tend to maintain their flavor more. I have even noticed that when cooking the sausage, the egg tends to come out with a little seasoning and flavor from the sausage. This adds even more flavor to the sandwich.
This little toaster has brought breakfast back for my husband and I. We enjoy one of these tasty meals for lunch and dinner too, who says you can't have a Bacon egg and cheese McMuffin at 8pm?
Some reviews stated that if you eat big meals it doesn't do well.. but unless you are eating two sandwiches at one time, it does just well. While you are waiting for one sandwich to cool down enough to eat it, the second one is cooking. by the time you are done with the first one, the second one is just about, if not already done.
I love this machine and would highly recommend it. It would make an excellent gift for the college bound student or a bachelor/ette.
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