I love products that get the job done. Well conceived, well designed, well engineered. I am constantly trying out new things that make it easier to keep our homes clean and tidy. If it’s simple, we are much more likely to do it.
One product that has been a favorite of mine for a while now, is a non-stick oven liner. My Mom loves to visit the Christmas Tree shop when she has a chance and bought one of these for us several years ago. I was skeptical at first, but sure enough, it works. Thanks Mom!
We love baked sweet potatoes and rhubarb pie in this house. Two things that notoriously spill in our oven. Now they are no longer a problem. Once the oven is cool, you take the teflon liner out and rinse it under cold water. The black burned food rinses right off. Brilliant!
Make sure you follow the directions for your type of oven. Things like not covering vent holes in gas and putting under the heating element in electric are important.
The Christmas Tree Shop sells oven liners for around $5 and a quick search online shows you can get them from Amazon for close to the same price.
My recommendation is to clean your oven first. At least the bottom and while your at it, why not the door? 🙂 I hate the smell of a self-cleaning oven. It not only stinks when it is in cleaning mode, the smell lingers for days. Yeech. So I just don’t use it.
I do a deep clean of the oven once in a blue moon and then just put it on maintenance mode. The liner gets rinsed. The door and glass cleaned about once a month.
Another trick for cleaning your oven is to use a pumice stone on the racks and on the bottom. I was amazed when I first used a pumice stone on the chrome racks. I did them for a customer, now it’s our turn.
Use your vacuum cleaner to suck up all the loose material first. Spray the surfaces with your favorite kitchen spray cleaner. The point is to get the burned material soaking to make it easier to clean. Then use steel wool, or green nylon scrub sponge first. I save the pumice stone for what doesn’t easily come off with the first pass.
Also I use a razor blade scraper (with a new blade) to clean the glass in the door. When I am pressed for time, just cleaning the door makes me feel better about the oven. It may not sparkle but at least it doesn’t smell when we cook and I’m not embarrassed to open it when we have company.
Now there is no need to be afraid to bake those yummy, healthy, sweet potatoes. Clean up is a breeze.
It’s a great life, simplified!
