I made 5 cookout foods in a slow cooker and they were all perfect for the 4th of July

• Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, I tested five popular cookout foods in a slow cooker.

• I thought the Buffalo wings I made in a slow cooker were among the best I've ever had.

• I also enjoyed Martha Stewart's recipe for pulled-pork sandwiches.

When planning a summer cookout, a Crock-Pot or slow cooker is a great tool to make prepping easier.

Fourth of July weekend is one of the most popular times for Americans to host cookouts. WalletHub and the National Retail Federation reported that US households will spend $9.4 billion on food alone for Fourth of July cookouts and celebrations this year, and roughly two-thirds of Americans will attend a Fourth of July picnic.

Ahead of the Fourth of July, I tried making five different dishes that I would typically make for a cookout, but this time I made them in my slow cooker. I loved the ease of using the slow cooker and also thought it would be an ideal way to transport hot dishes to a party.

From Buffalo-chicken dip to wings and pulled pork, all of the recipes turned out perfectly — no stove required.

The first recipe I made was potato salad, something I make for every cookout.

I started by chopping up about a pound of baby potatoes and placed them in my slow cooker.

The recipe by Eating Well called for fingerling potatoes. My local grocery store didn't have fingerling potatoes, so I substituted them for baby gold potatoes.

I made the dressing by mixing whole-grain mustard and all-purpose flour.

The dressing comes together when you add it to the same pan you use to cook bacon and add in the vinegar. I whisked the dressing until all of the ingredients had combined.

I added the dressing, a chopped sweet onion, and three chopped celery stalks to the potatoes along with the mustard dressing.

After the potatoes and vegetables had cooked for five hours, I crumbled three strips of bacon on top and served it with dill.

While I definitely enjoyed the finished potato salad, I wasn't sure if it was worth the long cooking time.

It usually only takes me 45 minutes tops to make a standard potato salad with mayonnaise and celery.

Between chopping the veggies, mixing the dressing, and boiling the potatoes in the slow cooker, this method took much longer. However, I really enjoyed this lighter, mayonnaise-free potato salad, and I liked the flavor of the mustard and crispy bacon.

The next cookout food I made was Martha Stewart's decadent three-cheese slow-cooker mac and cheese.

The recipe, which is in "Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker," calls for three cups of white sharp cheddar cheese and one cup of Gruyere in the macaroni-and-cheese mixture. The third and final cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, is later added to the breadcrumb mixture.

As well as the three kinds of cheese, the recipe calls for milk, yellow onion, and two cans of evaporated milk. The ingredients came together to make the most decadent, creamy, and delicious mac and cheese I've ever had.

One of the best parts about this recipe is that you don't have to sit around waiting for the macaroni to boil.

Instead, you simply throw it in with the other ingredients and it cooks in the slow cooker. The mac and cheese only took an hour and a half on high to finish cooking — in addition to being delicious, it was much quicker than some other slow-cooker recipes I've tried.

The cheese packed this dish full of flavor, especially the smoked Gruyere, while the onions made it even more delicious.

This was by far the most flavorful mac and cheese I've ever had, and I thought it was very easy to make in the slow cooker.

My only complaint was that the bottom layer of macaroni and cheese could have been creamier — it was a little watery compared to the top layers.

However, it probably would have cooked through more evenly with a little longer in the slow cooker.

I also made slow-cooked pulled-pork sandwiches.

The recipe by Martha Stewart calls for a halved, two-and-a-quarter pound boneless pork shoulder onion, oregano, bay leaves, chipotle, adobo sauce, crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes in puree, salt, and pepper.

This isn't your typical barbecue pulled pork, but I was excited to see how it would turn out.

After cooking the meat on high for six hours, as the recipe told me to do, it still wasn't as fork-tender as I wanted.

I was able to break one piece of the meat apart with a fork, but the other was still a little tough. I would have liked to let the meat cook for another hour or two, but since it was already past dinnertime, I decided to just break it apart the best I could.

If you wanted to make this for yourself, definitely wait until the meat is super tender before eating it.

The recipe recommends serving the pulled pork in a sandwich with coleslaw and pickles.

I made my own homemade coleslaw and served it on a white potato roll. The finished product was delicious, but I was craving a little barbecue sauce to make it even better.

I wasn't able to pull apart all of the meat easily, but the pieces that I did manage to tear off were tender and flavorful. The coleslaw and pickles also added freshness and crunch.

The next slow-cooker appetizer I made was a personal favorite for summer cookouts: Buffalo chicken wings.

While I had heard you could make Buffalo wings in a slow cooker, I was admittedly skeptical. I just couldn't see how they would turn out saucy or crispy enough. However, this recipe by Spend With Pennies called for putting the wings under my oven's broiler at the end, which intrigued me.

I started by mixing Buffalo sauce, minced garlic, chopped yellow onion, and brown sugar.

Then I added my chicken wings to the slow cooker and poured the sauce on top.

When you buy your chicken wings, make sure the drumsticks and flats are separated and ready to add to your slow cooker. I had to spend about 20 minutes trimming and separating my chicken wings, which took up extra time and energy since I had never done it before.

The Buffalo wings cooked in the slow cooker for three hours on low.

After they were fully cooked, I removed them from the slow cooker and placed them on a sheet pan covered with foil. I then brushed a generous amount of the extra Buffalo sauce over the wings and put them under the broiler for about three minutes on each side until they were crispy and slightly blackened.

Once the wings were done, I served them with some blue-cheese dressing.

I was surprised at how easy these wings were to make. I loved how the slow cooker kept the meat tender and a quick finish in the oven gave them the crispy coating I crave.

The wings were some of the best Buffalo wings I've ever had.

They were perfectly crispy and flavorful on the outside, while the meat inside was beyond juicy and moist. They were honestly perfect — not too spicy and the texture was out of this world. I would definitely make these time and time again.

The last slow-cooker cookout food I made was Buffalo-chicken dip.

The base for the Buffalo-chicken dip calls for crumbled blue cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch dressing. I combined those ingredients in a medium-sized bowl before spreading the mixture in a single layer in the bottom of my slow cooker.

I then added a layer of shredded chicken to the slow cooker.

You can use rotisserie chicken or simply boil up some chicken breasts and shred them yourself with a fork, like I did.

Next, I poured Buffalo wing sauce over the chicken-and-dip mixture and added a layer of shredded American cheese.

I could already tell this dip was going to be delicious.

After cooking on low for three hours, the dip was hot and bubbling in the slow cooker.

I set the slow cooker to warm and began prepping my toppings. I added another layer of American cheese and put the lid on the slow cooker to allow the cheese to melt. Then, I chopped up one green onion and added it to the top.

The dip was perfectly creamy, spicy, and cheesy — another successful slow-cooker recipe that's perfect for a cookout.

The layers of the dip were perfectly proportioned. With each bite, I got a delicious mouthful of cheese, hot sauce, and chicken. This recipe by Taste of Home really impressed me, and I would definitely make it again.

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