I made 5 game-day appetizers in my slow cooker, and I'd make them all again for the Super Bowl

• Super Bowl Sunday is the perfect time to use your slow cooker for easy, hands-off recipes.

• I made five game-day foods in my own Crock-Pot, including creamy queso dip and mac and cheese.

• I loved every recipe, but the crispy and juicy Buffalo wings really impressed me.

In a bid to find simple game-day appetizers that didn't require hours in the kitchen, I decided to test out five slow-cooker recipes. The first was classic Italian meatballs.

These meatballs by Chef Savvy are super versatile: You can serve them on their own with the tomato sauce, in a roll for a delicious meatball sub, or even with pasta. The ingredients for the meatballs are pretty standard — I used a meatball mix from the grocery store that included beef and pork.

It's really best to mix the ingredients together in the bowl by hand to make sure the eggs, breadcrumbs, and meat are well incorporated.

I formed the mixture into medium-sized balls and placed them on a lightly greased sheet pan so they could brown in the oven briefly.

I could see the chopped onion and parsley peeking through the meat mixture. The recipe that I followed said you should have about 24 meatballs — I had that exact number, so I was confident that my meatballs were the right size.

Next, I broiled the meatballs in the oven for about four minutes on each side, careful not to burn them.

Once the meatballs were perfectly browned, I took them out of the oven.

I then started gathering the ingredients for the tomato sauce the meatballs would cook inside in the slow cooker. The sauce calls for crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.

The meatballs fit in a single layer inside the slow cooker. I then added the ingredients for the tomato sauce and let it all cook on low for four hours.

It's OK if the meatballs are placed on top of each other if your slow cooker is slightly smaller.

After adding my tomato sauce ingredients, I set the slow cooker on low for four hours, as per the recipe. However, when I pulled out my first meatball at the four-hour mark, I thought it looked a little underdone. It's important to check your meatballs before eating them, as there can be variations in the cooking time depending on the size of your meatballs or even your slow cooker.

I let mine continue cooking for another half-hour on high to make sure everything was done for dinner time.

Finally, the meatballs were done — they were delicious. If you have any leftover from your game-day party, they make tasty leftovers, too.

I thought the meatballs were perfectly juicy and well-seasoned, while the tomato sauce tasted like homemade marinara that had been cooking on the stove for hours.

I enjoyed the meatballs on their own as an appetizer. However, later in the week, I served some of the leftover meatballs and sauce with pasta for dinner, which really impressed me as well.

You can view the full recipe by Chef Savvy here.

The next slow-cooker appetizer I made was a personal favorite for game days: 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 on Spend With Pennies called for putting the wings under the broiler at the end, which intrigued me.

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

I then 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 as 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 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 how easy these wings were to make.

I loved how the slow cooker cooked the meat and they only needed to be finished in the oven.

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.

You can find the full recipe by Spend With Pennies here.

The next slow-cooker recipe I tried was Martha Stewart's queso dip, which only called for a few ingredients.

I've tried a number of Martha Stewart's slow-cooker recipes in the past, and I've enjoyed a majority of them. I was excited to see how this queso dip would turn out.

Like a lot of her slow-cooker recipes, this dip only required a few ingredients, which I really appreciated when it came to braving the grocery store a week before Super Bowl Sunday.

I started by adding American cheese and pepper jack cheese to the slow cooker and mixed it together with a small amount of cornstarch.

After putting cheese in the slow cooker, I added a can of evaporated milk and a can of diced tomatoes with chilies.

I mixed it together until the mixture was creamy and combined and then seasoned it with salt.

The queso continued cooking for two hours on the low setting.

You'll know it's done when the dip is bubbling and slightly thickened.

After giving the dip a stir, I then added my toppings.

I added sliced jalapeños, red onion, and cilantro.

I thought this dip was absolutely delicious and super flavorful. I also loved how easy it would be to make for a large group of people.

I thought the pepper jack and American cheeses meshed well together, while the tomatoes and green chilies added a ton of flavor. I really liked the texture of the dip — it wasn't too thick or too watery.

I also really liked how this dip only called for a few ingredients. It would definitely make life a lot easier when cooking for a group of people on Super Bowl Sunday.

You can find the full recipe by Martha Stewart here.

I also made Martha Stewart's decadent three-cheese slow-cooker macaroni 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.

In addition to three kinds of cheese, the recipe called 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 macaroni 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 added a ton of flavor, especially the smoked Gruyere, while the onions made the dish even more delicious.

This was by far the most flavorful macaroni 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.

You can find the recipe in "Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker."

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

The base for the Buffalo chicken dip by Taste of Home calls for crumbled blue cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch dressing. I mixed those ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl before spreading it 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 game day.

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

You can find the full recipe by Taste of Home here.

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