To be honest, I am not the most adventurous cook, but about a year ago, I decided to invest in an electric multi-cooker, and it has genuinely transformed my daily routine in the kitchen. It is basically a versatile, programmable pressure cooker that also works as a slow cooker, steamer, and rice maker all in one fairly compact unit.
I tend to use it nearly every evening during the working week. When I get back from the office, the last thing I fancy doing is standing over a hot stove for an hour. Therefore, I mostly rely on it to prepare one-pot meals like hearty beef stews, vegetable curries, and grain bowls. For instance, I frequently make a spicy chickpea and tomato curry; I simply chop up some onions, toss in spices, legumes, and vegetable stock, secure the lid, and select the appropriate setting.
The main reason it saves me an enormous amount of time is that it cooks under high pressure, which raises the boiling point and drastically cuts down cooking times by at least two-thirds. Dishes that traditionally take hours of slow simmering, such as braised meats or dried beans, are ready in about twenty minutes. Furthermore, it completely eliminates the need to constantly stir or monitor the pan. That means I can put a load of laundry on, answer some emails, or simply unwind in the living room while my dinner prepares itself safely. It has made home cooking genuinely effortless on busy weeknights.