Ninja Cooking System anyone?

[sherry7]

I was just wondering if anyone here has the Ninja Cooking System? It's only been out for a few months, but the online reviews seem to be good. There's an infomercial, but it can also be bought at Walmart, Kohls, Sam's, Bed Bath Beyond, etc. Here's the appliance that I'm speaking of: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ninja-3-in-1-Cooking-System/21092317

I really liked what I saw on the infomercial, and I ended up buying one last week while I was at Sam's Club. But, I haven't opened it up yet. I'm hoping to hear some reviews from "real" people on how they like it, before I decide if I want to keep it.

For those that don't know what the appliance is, it's basically a crockpot on steroids. You can sear your meat in it, use it as a traditional slowcooker, roast, bake, steam bake, etc. It really does seem like a nice appliance.

 

[Fire14]

one of my home care pt's has one. She and her home health aide seem to love it. I will say the tday turkey was looking mighty good when I saw it. Very moist and tender, falling off bone.

 

[Straitlover]

One of the ladies in the infomercial is the lady who did the 365-day crockpot blog. She's kind of a "real" person, and she loves it.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Her blog got her noticed. She ended up on Rachael Ray, then did her cookbooks, and then got the informercial gig.

 

[sherry7]

one of my home care pt's has one. She and her home health aide seem to love it. I will say the tday turkey was looking mighty good when I saw it. Very moist and tender, falling off bone.

Hmmmm, I wonder if we're thinking about the same thing? This one definitely wouldn't hold a turkey. I think it says it would fit a 6 lb chicken though.

One of the ladies in the infomercial is the lady who did the 365-day crockpot blog. She's kind of a "real" person, and she loves it.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Her blog got her noticed. She ended up on Rachael Ray, then did her cookbooks, and then got the informercial gig.

Yep, I saw that. I love her blog. She seemed to genuinely like it, but then again, I'm sure she got compensated very well for doing the infomercial.

 

[RileysMom07]

I got one for Christmas and I love it. I really like cooking everything in one pan. Much less clean up. I made Shepherd's Pie last Sunday in mine and it was very easy and delicious. I was able do all of it from browning the meat to baking the pie in on pan.

 

[denisem]

I have a Wolfgang Puck Versacooker, which is very similar to the Ninja (except I believe the VC has higher wattage, a glass lid and does not come with the baking dishes like Ninja).

We use ours 1-2 times a week and love being able to brown the meats and continue roasting or slow cooking. This model does cook a bit faster than a normal slow cooker (i.e., items are usually done in 4 hrs. on "low" rather than 8), but we just time things accordingly. Have never used it for baked goods, but we've pretty much retired our regular slow cooker.

I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

[geishagirl81]

I got it for Christmas. LOVE IT. Best deal is at bed Bath and Beyond with 20% coupon- the set stocked there comes with the mini food prep bowl and the dough blade. I use it everyday for my morning green smoothie. I use it on weekends in the big pitcher for our frozen adult drinks. My bff has a $500 Margaritaville Blender, and I'd say the Ninja Mega does just as good with producing smooth, snowy ice! I have also used the food processor bowls and blades with great success. I was really blown away over how well it out preformed my old Cuisanart food processor--but I think the mini bowl is a must, the prep bowl that comes standard is almost too big to do small batches or thing like grind my flaxseed.

Very happy with mine.

edited to add that :
I see now you wrote Ninja Cooking System and not Ninja Kitchen 1500 system, my bad. I will keep my post up just in case anyone was wondering about the other new product. LOL

 

[Fire14]

Hmmmm, I wonder if we're thinking about the same thing? This one definitely wouldn't hold a turkey. I think it says it would fit a 6 lb chicken though.

Could be something differant. The turkey wasn't that big, The thing is ninja something. It looks like big oval crock pot to me. The pt has more ninja stuff than I knew exsisted.

 

[sherry7]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I finally decided to get it out of the box and use it today, and I love it! I made an adaptation of the Easy Spaghetti & Meatballs recipe that's in the book, with ingredients that I already had on hand. I browned 1 lb of lean ground venison (or substitute ground beef) with a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic and a heavy dusting of onion powder. When the meat was about 1/2 done, I tossed in a 1/2 lb bag of frozen tri-color bell pepper strips. After the meat was done, I added 16 oz of rotini pasta, a 23 oz jar of vodka sauce, and 3 3/4 cups of water, and used the bake setting at 300 for 25 minutes. I set my kitchen timer to remember to stir it every 5-6 minutes. It turned out surprisingly good, and I'll definitely make it again. I'm not a fan of frozen meatballs, so I'd rather use ground meat.

Oh, and the best part - there was only 1 pot to clean up! Usually when we have pasta, I need to wash a skillet, colander, sauce pot, and large pot. I love being able to cook everything in the one appliance. I'm looking forward to trying other recipes.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't have a Ninja, but I've been considering buying one. It looks like a great appliance. What's stopping me? Same thing that's stopping you: The cost! Like you, I'd like to hear from more "real people" before I buy something this expensive. I must admit, I already own three crock pots -- but they're all different, and I use them all! Do I need another one? No, but I think I want this product.

By the way, I do love that 365 days of crockpotting blog. I've made a number of her recipes, and I have yet to be disappointed!

One answer I haven't yet sought out: Do all the parts go into the dishwasher?

 

[sherry7]

I don't have a Ninja, but I've been considering buying one. It looks like a great appliance. What's stopping me? Same thing that's stopping you: The cost! Like you, I'd like to hear from more "real people" before I buy something this expensive. I must admit, I already own three crock pots -- but they're all different, and I use them all! Do I need another one? No, but I think I want this product.

By the way, I do love that 365 days of crockpotting blog. I've made a number of her recipes, and I have yet to be disappointed!

One answer I haven't yet sought out: Do all the parts go into the dishwasher?

Mrs Pete, I just got this email last night, which would make the "base" model of the Ninja Cooking System quite a bit less expensive. Cut and paste from the email: The Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System, regularly $159, drops to $117.20 when you stack promo codes HDFEB10 and SA20 at HomeDepot.com. With free shipping, that's the lowest price we could find by $31. The 6-quart cooker can perform steam-infused roasting or baking as well as searing, and is designed for efficient, low-fat, one-pot meals. Sales tax is charged in most states.

The model that Home Depot sells is the MC702. As compared to the one I bought at Sam's Club (MC703) for $149, it's exactly the same except that it doesn't include the big recipe book or the rubber tipped metal roast lifters. You can buy the big recipe book at Bed Bath Beyond for $15 though if you want it. If I hadn't already used my unit, I would have taken it back to Sam's Club and gotten the $117 one at Home Depot instead.

As far as dishwasher safe: The lid is NOT dishwasher safe, and neither is the small metal pan or the roasting rack. I don't think the roast lifters are either. The actual "crock" pot does state that it is dishwasher safe. That being said, it has a non-stick coating. I personally think that the dishwasher really degrades a non-stick coating over time. When I washed mine last evening after making the pasta dish, it only took about 30 seconds to wash it because everything slid off so easily.

 

[denisem]

Mrs Pete, I just got this email last night, which would make the "base" model of the Ninja Cooking System quite a bit less expensive. Cut and paste from the email: The Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System, regularly $159, drops to $117.20 when you stack promo codes HDFEB10 and SA20 at HomeDepot.com. With free shipping, that's the lowest price we could find by $31. The 6-quart cooker can perform steam-infused roasting or baking as well as searing, and is designed for efficient, low-fat, one-pot meals. Sales tax is charged in most states.

The model that Home Depot sells is the MC702. As compared to the one I bought at Sam's Club (MC703) for $149, it's exactly the same except that it doesn't include the big recipe book or the rubber tipped metal roast lifters. You can buy the big recipe book at Bed Bath Beyond for $15 though if you want it. If I hadn't already used my unit, I would have taken it back to Sam's Club and gotten the $117 one at Home Depot instead.

As far as dishwasher safe: The lid is NOT dishwasher safe, and neither is the small metal pan or the roasting rack. I don't think the roast lifters are either. The actual "crock" pot does state that it is dishwasher safe. That being said, it has a non-stick coating. I personally think that the dishwasher really degrades a non-stick coating over time. When I washed mine last evening after making the pasta dish, it only took about 30 seconds to wash it because everything slid off so easily.

Sherry7, I'm glad you're enjoying your Ninja and totally agree on the bolded part. My 1st similar appliance (that could brown/slow cook) was a Techniques cooker from QVC which worked great until the coating slowly wore off and I also blame the dishwasher. I've since switched to hand-washing the coated vessels in my Versacooker and electric pressure cooker - they still look like new even after getting a workout several times a week. They clean easily & I figure it's a trade off on not having to wash multiple skillets, pots, etc.

 

[sherry7]

Sherry7, I'm glad you're enjoying your Ninja and totally agree on the bolded part. My 1st similar appliance (that could brown/slow cook) was a Techniques cooker from QVC which worked great until the coating slowly wore off and I also blame the dishwasher. I've since switched to hand-washing the coated vessels in my Versacooker and electric pressure cooker - they still look like new even after getting a workout several times a week. They clean easily & I figure it's a trade off on not having to wash multiple skillets, pots, etc.

Yes, I ruined a couple of non-stick skillets that were supposedly "dishwasher safe" before I realized that the two really aren't compatible, even if the directions say so. I also will not use Pam spray on my metal cookware anymore. It gradually leaves a gummy buildup that will not come off without using a scouring pad (which of course can't be done on non-stick). I bought an oil misting sprayer instead which I fill up with my own canola or olive oil.

 

[MrsPete]

Mrs Pete, I just got this email last night, which would make the "base" model of the Ninja Cooking System quite a bit less expensive. Cut and paste from the email: The Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System, regularly $159, drops to $117.20 when you stack promo codes HDFEB10 and SA20 at HomeDepot.com. With free shipping, that's the lowest price we could find by $31. The 6-quart cooker can perform steam-infused roasting or baking as well as searing, and is designed for efficient, low-fat, one-pot meals. Sales tax is charged in most states.

The model that Home Depot sells is the MC702. As compared to the one I bought at Sam's Club (MC703) for $149, it's exactly the same except that it doesn't include the big recipe book or the rubber tipped metal roast lifters. You can buy the big recipe book at Bed Bath Beyond for $15 though if you want it. If I hadn't already used my unit, I would have taken it back to Sam's Club and gotten the $117 one at Home Depot instead.

As far as dishwasher safe: The lid is NOT dishwasher safe, and neither is the small metal pan or the roasting rack. I don't think the roast lifters are either. The actual "crock" pot does state that it is dishwasher safe. That being said, it has a non-stick coating. I personally think that the dishwasher really degrades a non-stick coating over time. When I washed mine last evening after making the pasta dish, it only took about 30 seconds to wash it because everything slid off so easily.

I very much appreciate you taking the time to tell me this, but after my experience with their customer service dealing with a small kitchen item, I will never, never, never give Home Depot my business again. They were quick to take my money, but slow to schedule my countertop install. After many phone calls on my part, an installer finally made it out to my house -- where he installed half of my countertops and then wouldn't do the rest, and they tried to make it out to be my fault -- even though their installer had come to my house to measure and had seen my space! They were petty, condescending and unprofessional. I wouldn't buy from them if the item were five dollars. If it were any other company, I"d probably be ordering right now.

Thanks for the details on the dishwasher safeness.

I'm thinking this system will come down in price once it's no longer new.