I’ve used crockpots for years, but somehow didn’t know about this one until my crock broke and I went looking for a new one. I read the reviews and watched the videos and thought there was no way it was that great, but if it was, I wanted it! Well I’m here to tell you, buy the dang thing! The first thing I cooked in this was loaded potato soup, which this recipe suggests caramelizing ham chunks. Typically, I would need to get out a skillet, cook the ham then move that to the crock with the rest of the ingredients. With this I was able to skip that step and actually caramelize my ham in this pot, like I would in a skillet, and with a turn of the dial add my remaining ingredients set the timer and walk away like normal! All my needed steps, to walk away and let it cook, were done in less then 15 mins (which is really the point of the crock pot, throw it in and go) I am a clean as you cook type of person, so previously I would’ve had to wash the skillet before I walked away. I let it cook on high for 3 hours and after the time was up it beeped one loud beep and switched its self over to the “keep warm” and began counting up to let me know how long it had been “done” and left to warm! I really can’t wait to try more recipes in this and use all the functions!

... I am glad I did. I had been wanting to try an air fryer but was concerned that it might be hard to return a cooking device after as many multiple uses I had in mind. The Prime Day deal of <$45 solved a price-time problem that Yale economics professor Bill Nordhaus advanced. How many hours would we have to work in order to afford a consumer item? With a price point of <$45, this Ninja air fryer can get consumers to try it out, and few of them will have to work more than 3 hours (i.e., $15/hour) to afford the device at that price. I've been using it for about a week. It already has saved me about three hours of cooking/cleaning time that I otherwise would have had to 'spend' as time cooking and cleaning up after I used this device to prepare: (i) corn on the cob, (ii) yellow perch filets, (iii) brats and hot dogs, (iv) frozen lasagna I bought on sale, (v) coconut shrimp, also frozen and on sale, (vi) bacon, (vii) small potatoes and other fresh vegetables, etc. To be truthful, I sometimes try to reduce cleaning time by using a little aluminum foil platform cut to about 5x5 inches and folded to trap moisture. So the cost of each item is a bit more when I do that. But it's not necessary. It's easy to clean. I have had none of the 'smells' issues mentioned by other purchasers of this device. Recall that this is a trimmed down model I bought to try out for our downsized family of two adults, but large enough to try things out. As an example, perch filets this AM took 6 minutes to cook, and 2 minutes to clean up. Tonight, three fresh Michigan corn on the cob cut in 1/2 required two cooking cycles of 6 minutes each in hand folded aluminum foil 'shelf' I created for inside the basket, no need for washing it. I washed the foil for next use. Lasagna foil was too messy to clean. I tossed it but didn't have to wash anything. You get the picture. Try it to gain the air fryer experience and decide whether you want more whistles and bells with a more expensive air fryer. I'll be watching for a device with 4-6 quart basket and more temperature options. This one has 2-quart basket and 400 degrees F, but I adjust the timer to deal with the fixed temperature it delivers. Not a problem. Most of the time, it means fewer minutes from start to finish. Highly recommended if you want to try out the air fryer experience. If I were a Ninja executive, I'd use it as a loss leader, get people to try it for <$45, and then give then a discount coupon to purchase upward toward a more fully-featured model once the initial experience is positive. The way Toyota marketed its early cars 50+ years ago. Got us hooked on low price Corollas in hope we'd spring for the higher price Toyota Coronas, etc. (p.s. A few more weeks of positive experience and no plastic smell. The fixed 400 degree F setting is not an impediment. I just adjust cooking time downward when the recipe calls for 275-399 F. The 6.3 inch square air fryer liners sold by MT&L via ninjaoutlets.com fit reasonably well (photo) & the height keeps the top edge of liner away from upper level of basket. The round 6.3" diameter Mikapana liners fit inside also, with a little tolerable wrinkle, per Pythagorean theorem. A 5.5" square liner would fit even better, but I'll use up the 6.3" set before I look for something smaller.)