Product Review: Silicone Baking Mat

Silicone Baking Mat

Real Simple brand

About the Product: A silicone baking mat is supposed to replace the need to grease your pan or use parchment paper in baking. The mat is a thin, flexible, silicone piece that can withstand high temperatures (up to 480 degrees) when baking and nothing is supposed to stick to it. This specific baking mat (pictured) is the Real Simple brand sold at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I believe that silicone baking mats can be found at most any general retailer including Target, Wal-Mart, Jet.com, and of course Amazon. The silicone baking mat is also supposed to cool down quickly to reduce the possibility of burning whatever you are baking. There are many different brands, colors, and sizes of silicone baking mats. My Mom gave me two different sized baking mats for Christmas last year - a large and a small - and the small was the only one that fit my cookie sheet (11x16.6 inches). The large mat was bigger than any of my large air-bake cookie sheets - I'm guessing it was 16x24 inches. 

Why I Chose This Product: Last year I saw these baking mats used somewhere and wondered if they really worked. I put them on my Christmas list and, as I mentioned earlier, my Mom got me some. I have since put them to the baking test and wanted to share how they work.

Cost: $14.99

Use: I have used this baking mat for a variety of foods. I think I first baked cookies on it- the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bites pictured above. The dough for those cookies is a wet, sticky dough, and the recipe actually says to use either a silicone baking mat or parchment paper for baking. (I would assume that if you didn't use either of those products you would need to grease your baking sheet.) In addition to cookies, I have also broiled fresh asparagus drizzled with olive oil and salt, and baked hamburger buns and rolls.

Conclusion: I have been pretty impressed with the silicone baking mat! The cookies did not stick at all, and I could just lift them off with my fingers - no spatula (or "egg turner" as I grew up calling it) was needed. The cookies did leave a light residue on the mat which very easily wiped off. When I broiled the asparagus, it left baked-on juices on the mat. I was a bit excited when it all just wiped off with a warm dishcloth; no scrubbing baked on food and grease off of the pan! Baking the rolls and hamburger buns was also cleaned up with just wiping the mat off. I have really enjoyed the ease of clean-up whenever I use the silicone baking mat, especially when it's something that needs a greased pan.

Would I recommend this product? Yep, I would. If you're somebody that uses parchment paper or foil a lot to reduce clean-up, I think a silicone baking mat is perfect for you! And, even if you think you like to grease your cookie sheets for baking, I think a silicone baking mat would be great for you, too! The only thing that I have noticed with the baking mat is that cookies and breads don't turn as brown on the bottom as they do on a regular baking sheet. But, that's not a deal breaker for me; easy to clean and not making more trash makes it worthwhile. The silicone baking mats really are simple requiring only warm, soapy dishwater to clean (no dishwashers, though!), and are easy enough to store - mine stays with my baking sheet. The only cautions I have read are to not cut or gouge the silicone baking mat, and if you do find it punctured to throw it out. I'm not sure of the "why's" for that caution, but just don't cut the mats to fit (as I had considered with the large mat I received), or use your sharp, metal spatulas on it. Even with that caution, I think everyone that bakes should put silicone baking mats on their Christmas list!

Feedback: What silicone bakeware have you used, and what was your experience?

*I, nor A Journey Thru Pictures Blog, was paid, sponsored, reimbursed, or given free product in exchange for this review.*

Recipe Reviews! Week 17

I kind of missed/skipped doing a Recipe Reviews post last week on purpose, but not really on purpose. I ended up taking a break from the blog for the week and am hoping to change a few things and do better with my blogging intentions! So, here we are back to the weekly Recipe Reviews and the recipes this week included...

Steel Cut Oats

Several months ago, I asked my sisters for new oatmeal recipes as I was looking to add variety to our oatmeal breakfast routine. I went back

I've Been to Branson...

A few years ago, I wrote this post, "I've Been to Jackson..." about a spontaneous road-trip that I did with my friends, Brittany and Shannon. This trip to Branson, Missouri that I'm sharing today wasn't a road-trip with Brittany and Shannon, but a vacation with Jason's family. In trying to come up with a clever title, however, "Branson" rhymed with "Jackson".....the Johnny Cash song came to mind......and I came up with, "I've Been to Branson...look out Branson-town!"

It was the first week of April for the family group vacation, and we left on Sunday after church. I think everyone was hoping for nice weather, but on the drive south we ran into freezing rain, snow, and just general gray, cold, overcast skies. Driving into the Big Cedar Lodge resort area where we were staying, everything just looked cold and gray. Not really the type of weather we were hoping for, especially as Jason and I had wanted to check out some of the hiking and outdoor activities that Branson is supposed to have.

Jason's family had all gotten there ahead of us and did all the check-in stuff, so we met them at Taco Bell where they were having dinner to get our room keys and such. Not much happened that first evening besides letting Little Pumpkin run around after the long car-ride, and unloading our luggage and accoutrements.

Everyone did go to Grandpa and Grandma's room for the handing out of Easter Baskets.

Recognizing Father's Day

I am very late in this Father's Day post, but better late than never, right?

Happy Father's Day to this man, Little Pumpkin's best friend and favorite person.

Product Review: Kenmore 600Series Canister Vacuum

Kenmore 600 Series Bagged Canister Vacuum w/Pet PowerMate

sold by Sears

About the Product: This is what one of my sisters, I believe, calls a "dog on a leash" vacuum. Kenmore is a Sears brand name and, I think, is only sold by Sears, K-Mart, and Amazon. The actual manufacturer, supposedly, could be Cleva, Panasonic, Eureka, PhoneMate, and TTI according

Recipe Reviews! Week 16

I'm going to start this week's reviews off with our Memorial Day meal. Not going to lie, though- it was not our healthiest meal of the week!

Hush Puppies

I remember having Hush Puppies once as a kid. It was at some benefit dinner that we went to with Grandma and Grand-daddy (it's quite possible

Alone vs. Lonely

I'm sitting here, alone, eating graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate. Jason had to go out of town for work this week. And, since I couldn't take the entire week off of work, Little Pumpkin went to her grandparents for two days. So, I am all by myself. I have never really thought about the difference between feeling alone and feeling lonely before. In fact, I probably didn't really think that there was much difference in those feelings. One goes with the other, right? Well, earlier this year I discovered that there is a difference between feeling alone and feeling lonely. It was actually a bit of a relief to learn the difference for reasons I'm not sure I know how to explain yet.

If you read my post, Fake It 'Til You Make It, you'll know that after we moved to Kansas last spring I kind of crashed. In addition to what I wrote about in that post, I pretty much withdrew from everything, and everyone, and became a hermit. I even told people that I had become a professional hermit. I did not want to be around people, did not want to meet people, and did not want to talk to people. For the first few months, I actually ordered a lot of my groceries online and had them shipped to my door just to avoid going to the store and being around people. Pretty much the only people infested places that I somewhat willingly drug myself to was church and Little Pumpkin's doctor appointments.

Typically, when you move to a new place, you purposely try to meet people for the purpose of making acquaintances and, potentially, friends. I did none of that. And, I wanted nothing to do with that sort of thing. After Gunther returned to live with us, I started taking he and Pumpkin for walks, but I tried to do it when I thought there was the least possibility of being seen. I wasn't very successful, but I managed quite well to ignore

Product Review: Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Brown Sugar

Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Brown Sugar

produced by Quaker Oats Company

About the Product: Quaker Oatmeal Squares is a cold cereal that you can find in the cereal aisle of most grocery stores. As you can see, it looks

Recipe Reviews! Week 15

I have actually been trying to "get ahead" on the recipes that I have to share so that I'm not rushing at the last minute to finish editing the blog post and get it ready for you. Also, I'm hoping that will allow me some flexibility in cooking, and I can make Jason some of the "food like we used to make" that he has been asking for. Not to mention that it's June, and it's hot (we were over 90 degrees a lot in the last half of May), and cooking/baking when it's hot just is not that appealing. But, we still have to eat, even though I still recommend fasting as an option! But on to the recipes!

This weeks recipes included....

Quiche Lorraine

Not to add any pressure, but whenever I make one of my sister Miriam's recipes, I have high expectations. Any food of hers that I have

My Reading Reviews: A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace

Author: John Knowles

John Knowles, an American author born in Fairmont, West Virginia, wrote seven novels, the first of which is A Separate Peace. This specific novel is said to have been a classic and won Knowles acclaim when it was published in 1959. I just found out that there is a sequel to this book, though I