Grazia Silicone 24 Cup Mini Muffin Pan Review #muffinpans

I have several muffin pans, some big, some small but this is the first time I have ever used a silicone pan. I can see so many reason why more and more people are switching to silicone trays and pans because of the many benefits they give compared to the metal ones.

Grazia Silicone 24 Cup Mini Muffin Pan was given to me for evaluation. I was excited to test it because I want to see and experience the results myself and have a comparison to the metals pans that I normally use when I bake.

What I like:
It is made of high-grade silicone which is FDA approved and safe on baking. Silicone is said to be inert so it does not react with food even on high temperatures.

It can stand heat of up to 450˚F which is way hotter than what is required for baking cake, cookies, etc.

It is easily washed and dried. It is also safe for dishwasher.

It bakes fast. I normally bake for 20-30 mins. for the usual chocolate muffin but I baked a wheat bran muffin which was even denser and it baked around 15 mins. tops.

You don't have to grease it too much. Just a few spritz of my cooking oil onto the silicone mat was enough to keep my muffin sliding off when baked.

It is flexible and easy to pop the muffin out without having to use any utensils to prop the muffin out of the pan unlike when using the metal ones.

It did not emit any weird odor. Some people said that low-grade silicone bakeware sometimes emit odor which maybe the harmful "fillers/chemicals" used. This Grazia Silicone 24 cup mini muffin pan did not have any odor while I was baking.

It will save you money over a long period of time because it is very durable.

It is impervious to rust!

It will not get scratches when you take your muffin out of the pan. Be careful though to use a sharp utensil as it will go through the silicone pan.



What I don't like:
Nothing.  I am very surprised that I find this bakeware better than the metal pans I have gotten used to.  I like this product a lot and I may shift to silicone bakewares now.


Price:
Sold at Amazon on Sale: $14.88 and FREE Shipping on orders over $35. More details in the product's Amazon site.


My recommendation:
I am going to switch to high-grade silicone bakeware now after trying this Grazia Silicone 24 cup mini muffin pan.  I recommend this product due to the many benefits it gives homemakers and it will definitely save you money and time by using this type of pan.




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Mother's Day Kitchenaid Giveaway

Hosted by:

NYSavingSpecials

Co-Hosted by:

Ramblings of Mama, Simply Sherryl, Lost in Boston, So Simply Stephanie, Sweet Sensible Scents, Barbara's Beat, Filipino Recipes, Michigan Savings and More and My Fab Fit Forties

Come and join these fabulous bloggers who hosted this great giveaway for Mother's Day!

You can be the lucky winner for a

KitchenAid KSM75SL 4.5 Qt. Classic Plus Stand Mixer, Color silver

Dates:

May 9 12:01am EST. To May 23 11:59pm  EST.

Valid only in the Continental United States. 

Void where prohibited

18 years or older to enter/only 1 entrant per household

 Winner is chosen through random.org

All entries are optional.

All winning entries will be verified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: It's My Party is not responsible for the awarding of the prize.  If you have any questions about this giveaway, please email the host at nysavingspecials@gmail.com.  This blog, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media network is not associated with this giveaway.

Good luck! Don't wait too long, join now!

Fun Crafts And Hobbies To Enjoy With Your Children

With the winter days drawing in, and weekends you enjoyed as a family outdoors a distant memory, now is the time to start thinking about ways you can occupy and entertain your kids during the school holidays, rainy days and at the weekends.

Most preschoolers and older children like and enjoy arts and crafts, and with the festive season nearly upon us, it is the perfect time to get your gluesticks, paint pots and pom poms ready for some crafty fun!

Crafting is extremely beneficial for children; it stimulates their senses, enhances their language and social skills, and is also great for building relationships with your children.

Here are some fun and creative ideas that you and your kids will enjoy, and who knows some of these activities may reveal a budding Picasso or a Delia Smith in your family!

Baking

This is perhaps one of the most popular hobbies you can enjoy with your kids.  Not only are you teaching them vital cooking skills for when they have flown the nest in years to come, you are also giving them some knowledge about maths when measuring out ingredients.  Take your little ones to the local supermarket and you will find various mixes, ranging from cookie dough mixtures to chocolate brownies and if you want to make the good old fairy cakes, you will find lots of icing mixtures already prepared, as well as plenty of decorations to adorn your masterpieces with.

Hand/feet printing

This is an age old activity and you probably remember doing this yourself when you were younger, however hand and feet printing is still really popular with children.  Wriggling their little toes and hands in paint allows them to explore their senses of touch and sight and the freedom of getting a little bit messy makes the activity lots of fun.  They also serve as wonderful keepsakes for you to proudly display in frames or on canvasses.  As we all know with little ones, accidents can happen, so if you are worried about your kids staining your recently painted walls or damaging your carpets, you can get some great water based paints which are non toxic and clean off easily.

Card making

Card making is a great way to recycle everyday objects in your home such as buttons, ribbons, cotton wool and even bottle lids.  This activity is great for educating your children about the importance of recycling and also allows them to use their own initiative and ideas for finding ways they can use certain household items to create different types of cards.  For example, cotton wool for Santa’s beard or black pipe cleaners to create a spider for a spooky Halloween card.

Make animal balloons

Your kids will look at you in wonderment and amusement when you unveil an animal balloon after several actions of twisting and bending.  There are several websites and videos you can find online that will teach you how to make a simple dog or a monkey out of a balloon or you can make them freestyle.  Get your kids involved and ask them to help you by inflating the balloons or ask them to make an animal while you guess what it is. There will be guaranteed hours of fun and lots of giggles for sure.

Hopefully this has helped to inspire you, for when you are stuck for ideas on a rainy day and the kids are a bit restless.  Just remember, your children will value any kind of time spent with you, so if you can, make your time together as precious as possible.

This is a guest post written for www.riablahgs.com's readers.

Christmas Cupcakes

Our budget was a bit tight this Christmas. Instead of buying customized cakes and yule logs, my daughter and I decided to make our own cupcakes. We baked and decorated and frosted the cupcakes. The quality is not as good as the bakeshop kind and not even close but we enjoyed every minute baking together. It's our mini-bonding time!

Here's a snap of our Christmas cupcake. Enjoy!

Ace of Cakes

I was casually browsing the Internet for floor plans and was not sure how I ended up checking Chef Duff's creative cake creations.

I checked pictures upon pictures of beautiful, spunky and very creative cake designs he had made with his team. I have not heard of him yet but he has a show in the FoodNetwork which I normally don't watch given my dislike for cooking and anything involving the use of the kitchen (except when I need to get food from the fridge to munch).

Check out  samples of their cakes and tell me who will not drool over these yummy-looking cakes! I wish I can taste one...

Thinking of a Business

I have expressed my desire to leave the corporate bondage in the near future after I have settled all my obligations here. To that effect, I have been planning and researching on what I will do once I am out of the work force for good. I cannot just sit and wait for my pension to come in. I will go crazy if that happens. I have to do something productive too.

Lately, I have been looking at various sites on custom cakes and party favors. I am interested in this area since my daughter loves to bake and I love to make handmade stuff. Together, we can be a good mother-daughter dynamic duo in the home-business scheme. There are so many factors to consider too, for example, business capital to use, location, products, business insurance, reliable employees, costing, business permits and sales pitch. It is going to be a lot of hard work but I hope this plan materialize while I am young and able.