During summer, the last place you'd rather be is in the heat of the kitchen. You may want to stay away from the stove and oven as much as possible, unless, of course, your idea of fun is melting from the heat. But while cooking may feel unbearable, there's one kitchen task you might look forward to in the warmer seasons: making ice cream and smoothies.

Ice cream is a summertime treat most of us wax nostalgic about from childhood. You usually just grabbed it ready-made from the grocery store or bought it with loose change when an ice cream truck rolled through your neighborhood. This, however, meant you were stuck with whatever flavor was available, which could be disappointing. Thankfully, at-home ice cream makers like Ninja Creami now exist. Instead of going out for ice cream, this unconventional kitchen appliance allows you to whip up your own pint on the spot, essentially. However, unlike the old-fashioned bulky ice cream machines that churned bases from scratch, the Ninja Creami is more compact and makes ice cream in an entirely different way.

The Ninja Creami is a seven-in-one ice cream maker designed to turn pre-frozen mixtures into your favorite frozen dessert. How it does that is pretty simple. First, you prepare the customized base, which is essentially just a blend of your chosen ingredients. This could be anything from a regular ice cream base to crushed fruit with juice. Pour the mixture evenly into one of the 16-ounce pints that come with the machine, and leave it in your freezer for 24 hours, with the temperature ideally set between -7 to 9°F (-22 to -13°C). Once frozen solid, pop the pint into the outer bowl, secure it to the unit, and simply press the preset program you want to run.