Potluck Main Dish Lifesaver

So I don’t know if any of you have come across this scenario or not, but this seems to be what always happens to us at church/school/neighborhood/MOPS picnic/wherever potlucks - our last name begins with P, so somehow we are 99% of the time asked to bring a main dish (You know when ever the potluck is one that is broken down alphabetically by last name as to what you are supposed to bring). And I ALWAYS struggle to come up with something to bring because I don’t want to cook for 100 people and EVERYONE is already bringing chili or lasagna or enchiladas!

And we have to throw into the mix here that my kids are pretty picky too! So they of course WILL NOT be eating any of the other main dishes that consist of Chili, lasagna or enchiladas. And somehow there always also seems to be about 50 different salads to choose from (and my kids won’t touch those either!). So now they are stuck eating chips, a few carrots I was able to sneak onto their plates, and hopefully someone brought some fruit too!

About a year ago, one of the lovely ladies from our church clued me into the BEST potluck idea EVER!

And here are the reasons why it is now my favorite Main Dish Potluck Item!

1. I don’t have to actually COOK it! (just heat it up!)

2. My kids will FOR SURE eat it (and so will about 98% of ALL the other kids! Don’t even bother to ask where I am coming up with these statistics, totally making this up as I go!)

3. There are NEVER leftovers that I am forced to eat (I really don’t care much for left overs, ESPECIALLY if they sat out half the day at a potluck and WHO KNOWS who touched it, sneezed on it, coughed on it – clearly you get the picture, and CLEARLY, I have issues!)

4. Did I mention how little PREP WORK (AKA COOKING) there is for this? NOT MUCH!!!

5. THEY ARE SO EASY TO PREPARE, BRING, EAT, and CLEAN UP!

So my SECRET Potluck Main dish Lifesaver is…….

Yep! Hot DOGS! In the crock pot! Easiest thing EVER!!!!

My 5 quart crock pot will fit 60 hot dogs standing on their ends. Just put them on low for 4 hours or high for 2, add a bit of water (although I have been told you can do it without the water too!), put a lid on it and you are good to go! Don’t forget the buns and Ketchup!!!

And no, I never mentioned healthy in my list of reasons why I love bringing them. And to be honest, my hubby and I are NOT hot dog fans so we don’t buy them for our house so my kids think they are kind of a treat to get.