You know you’ve reached middle age when a small appliance gets you all excited. But I’m over the moon happy about our recent purchase and am eager to share it with you all. You’re welcome.
Our $15 thrift store bargain toaster oven bit the bullet a little over a week ago. We had certainly gotten our money’s worth. The sucker lasted for about three years before finally deciding it preferred to just gently warm our bread versus toast it.
My husband John looked at me and said “We are NOT doing a thrift store purchase again. We can go buy something new this time.” I (surprisingly) agreed with him. We determined our budget and ventured to Kohl’s.
While there, we discovered the Ninja® Foodi™ 8 in 1 Air Fryer Oven. I resisted this sucker for all of 30 seconds. Did we really need something that not only baked and toasted our food, but could also air fry, dehydrate, air broil, and warm it?
Naturally I pulled out my phone to see the product reviews, earning an eye roll from John. Hey, due diligence is important. I was pleased to see lots of 4+ star reviews.
What really won us over was the “get extra-large capacity without sacrificing counter space” claim. Most 120-year-old homes don’t have tons of kitchen space … or closet space … or any space for that matter.
Our columnist’s new space-saving appliance is taking her to new levels of happiness. (Photo provided by Amy Shankland)
This thingee would not only cook our food a variety of ways, but it tilted up on its back when not in use. It even had a little “FLIP” indicator when it was safe to do so. That feature drew a little squeal from me.
We decided this was what we wanted, but apparently lots of Kohls’ shoppers agreed, because they only had the display model. John looked up the same item on his phone and saw that Best Buy had one left. We zoomed across 37 to purchase it.
Of course, we had to test it out as soon as we got home. John baked up some pizza rolls and was pleased at how hot and crispy they turned out.
Conveniently, we were having breakfast for dinner that Sunday evening, so I got to test out the nine slices of bread toasting capacity. Every slice came out perfectly brown, something we weren’t even used to thanks to the thrift store toaster oven. I almost didn’t remember what real toast looked like.
At this point I must insert the disclaimer that I’m not getting a dime from Ninja Kitchen, this product’s creators, for this column. I’m just an (almost) empty nester mama who appreciates the simple joys and victories in life.
I’m looking forward to using this appliance often in the hot summer months when we won’t feel like turning on the oven or firing up the grill. Thanks, Ninja Kitchen, for giving us a little more counter space AND darn good toast. It’s a win-win.