So, dining hall food can get boring very fast. Really, after the first week it’s easy to get sick of it already. It’s edible and mostly healthy, so we suffer through. But some days it is nice to be able to cook something for yourself. Whether sick of dining hall food, afraid of the frozen tundra between you and a dining hall, or just missing a simple recipe from home, let me introduce you to the Ninja Cooking System.
The Ninja Cooking System is essentially a crockpot, but with one great feature, it doubles as a stove top! Many dorms do not allow open heat sources like hotplates, so the Ninja is a great alternative if they do allow crockpots. This is important, because some schools don’t even allow crockpots in the dorm, so make sure you can have a crockpot.
The Ninja allows you to “slow-cook, sear, bake, or steam all in one pot”! This means you can make one pot dishes right in your dorm. The most recent edition of the Ninja, the multi-cooker, has 4 settings: stovetop, slow cooker, steamer, and oven. The stovetop has low and high settings, allowing you to sear or simply warm. The slow cooker has settings for warm, low, and high for varying lengths for stews and other meals. All settings are easy to switch between and allow you to even cook different things for one meal.
The Ninja usually runs for $80 by itself, or $130 or so for the kit. This includes a carrier, recipe book, steam rack, and cake pan. I got mine off CVQ, but Walmart and Amazon also carry the Ninja. It is some of the best money ever spent. I can make Hamburger Helper when it’s cold outside and I don’t feel like braving it for dining hall food. I’ve made one-pot dishes I normally have at home, but can’t get here. It’s amazing being able to cook if I want or need to in my dorm. It’s convenient and easy with the Ninja. The inside pot is also removable for easy cleaning.
Some of my favorite dishes to make are pot roast, Hamburger Helper, and enchiladas. All are made easy by the stovetop function and are great for roommate bonding over a meal! Your roommate will also appreciate some good food, as long as they help or chip in!