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Super simple. Yummy. Feeds a crowd.
You are going to want to hold on to this one.
We hosted our second and final graduation party last weekend. (One week after we geniusly decided to hold a yard sale…not the best decision!)
My eldest son had requested jambalaya for his grad party. It was delish, but when my currently graduating son requested hot dogs and chips for his party, I was not disappointed at the ease of this menu.
Easy Party Menu
My son once said that Cheetohs were his favorite food. He would be thrilled to survive on chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, chips and cereal. (No, by the way, he does not survive on that menu). This kid has a metabolism that allows him to eat whatever he wants, and he works a physically demanding job, so we don’t worry too much about his food choices… but he does eat healthy meals as well as the chips in case you were worried. 😉
Anyway, this menu choice made momma happy. We decided to do hot dogs and a chip bar, putting out a number of different varieties. And to balance things out a bit, we also did watermelon and veggie trays.
Grandpa does the watermelon year for all the grandkids when they graduate. Pretty cool!
His dessert of choice was cookies (and mom was even allowed one ‘smart cookie’ pun) and we had soda and water for beverages. It was a fun day of family, friends, games and visiting.
And eating of course.
I still have cookies on my counter, and in the freezer. And I think we’ll have enough chips to last us a few months. (Hi, my name is Susan and I tend to overbuy when shopping for parties).
People First Hospitality
Speaking of entertaining, can I give you one piece of advice before I share this recipe/method with you?
Here it is: invite people over. Your house may not look perfect..invite them over anyway. A generally clean but imperfect, messy, unfinished house is not a reason to avoid entertaining.
We had intended on repairing and repainting our deck for the graduation party (and by we I mean my husband). Between the yard sale, rain, and other mishaps my husband came to me on Thursday and told me it would not be done for the party.
Zero stress. I can honestly say, I felt absolutely zero stress about this.
We did decide that we wouldn’t ignore the in-progress project, so I made some signs to put up.
I had a friend who is a young mom offer me a lovely compliment when she saw the signs.
“Your example of being comfortable inviting us over to your home even when it was kind of messy or in flux modeled to me the importance of putting people first, and now I do that too.”
My heart is happy just thinking of that. Putting people first, that is what it’s all about.
I got to share with her that it was a friend of mine who modeled that principle to me by inviting me over when her living room was literally covered in laundry. Covered. As we sat among the clothes and visited while she folded and stacked, she told me that she trusted me with her mess.
And you know, I would much rather have a visit like than than one in a perfectly clean house that I will never attain and go home feeling guilty about my inadequacies.
Anyone else?
==>More graduation party ideas here <==
How to make hot dogs in the crock pot
OK, the hot dogs. Friends, it’s not much of a recipe.
Put the hot dogs in the crock pot. Fill that baby up.
Turn it on low to heat the dogs for about 4 hours. (I read that you could heat on high for about 2 hours, but I did not try that).
Be sure to turn the crock pot down to warm after the hot dogs are heated through if you’re going to have them out for awhile.
Do not add anything. No water, no nothing. Just the hot dogs and turn it on.
They were delicious! Steamed and juicy.
A couple of things to note:
I moved the hot dogs around with tongs at about the 3 hour mark, the ones on the edges could get a little dark in spots. (Not that that’s a horrible thing)
Also, some of the hot dogs got discolored spots from where other hot dogs had been laying on them, like they heated slightly differently. I’m telling you that just so you don’t freak out if that happens to you. They all tasted the same.
We served ours with classic fixin’s … ketchup, mustard, onions and relish. I thought a chili-dog bar would be fun, but my picky eating son does not do chili, so we skipped it for this party.
I know our relish looks different than you might be used to. It’s my grandma’s recipe for a sweet pickle relish that I grew up on. I’ll have to share it with you later this summer. It’s kind of awesomely delicious.
Have you made hot dogs in the crock pot before? I will definitely be doing this again when cooking for a crowd. I was so pleased with the results!
Need to make hot dogs for a crowd? Use the crock pot!
Ingredients
- hot dogs
Instructions
- Seriously, this is not much of a recipe. 🙂
- Put the hot dogs in the crock pot. Add nothing else.
- Turn crock pot on low and heat for about 4 hours.
- Alternately, you can heat on high for about 2 hours.
- Turn crock pot to warm if leaving out for a party.
Sandra says
Ironically, my work lunch today is hot dogs! I don’t know if the lady who brought hot dogs used a crock pot or not, but I am grateful to have a practical recipe like this that would feet a lot of people! Thank you!
Susan says
You are so welcome! Finding easy things for a bunch is always good news.
Lizzi says
Thanks for the “recipe” I will be trying it out this afternoon.
Susan says
Yay! Thanks for letting me know–I hope it worked out fantastically for you!
Becky says
Love this idea! Now if we could find a way to precook the hamburgers so my husband doesn’t stand at the grill the whole time, life would be great! Party on!
Susan says
Right?! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Kelly says
Hello! Did you thaw the hotdogs first or were they frozen? Feeding a football team this week and this is a great idea!
Susan says
Mine were not frozen. I think it’d work okay if they were, though, they may just need to heat a bit longer. Definitely a good way to feed a team of hungry fellas!!
Deborah Swanson says
THANK YOU! Not for the recipe, but for your words of wisdom about inviting people over. It’s been on on my mind for at least four years to have my best girls over for cakes, cookies and hot beverages between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kind of a pre -holiday chill. Couldn’t wait so it’s happening mid October. I’m excited AND super relaxed.
Susan says
Oh I’m so glad that you found that and are leaning into it. The whole mindset makes having people over so much more of a pleasure!! ENJOY your girls chill 🙂
Linda says
I want your relish recepi
Susan says
I never published that, did I?? I so need to get on that. My dad makes it only every few years, as it’s pretty labor intensive and I’ve just made it with him a couple of times. But I remember helping my grandma making it growing up as well. Sorry about mentioning it and not getting it out there… I will speak with him soon and get it out!
Amanda says
Do you not need to add any water to the crock pot?
Susan says
No, nothing! Isn’t that crazy?! Totally works, though.
Kelly says
Thanks so much for this! My son’s grad party is coming up and instead of making my husband stand out there grilling hot dogs (he wouldn’t mind anyway), why not use a crockpot? Awesome! Great time saver! We’re keeping the menu simple, like you did! Hot dogs, chips, veggies, fruit, potato salad, cookies, and water. I’m glad I’m not the only one keeping things simple. It seems like people go “all out” for these parties, and you don’t really need to! 🙂
Susan says
I hope it goes perfectly for you! Simple is the way to go. Besides being less stress for the host, I think it helps guests relax and enjoy themselves too!
Kelly says
I must add that I feel like I’m going to want to add water to the crockpot 😅 but I’ll trust you on this one!