Microwave Muffins in Minutes

I got some silicone muffin trays for Christmas and thought I'd try them out today to make an after-school snack.  I do think it's a little weird to cook things in the microwave and I know it can work, I just don't usually do it.

I used some Shirley J muffin mix that I bought from my cousin and added chocolate and cinnamon chips.  (I meant to add mini-chips, but who knows where those went?  I found 2 opened bags of regular chocolate chips and one of cinnamon chips.  Where are the mini chips?)

The instructions on the trays said to spray them with Pam, but I didn't have any.  So, I consulted with a friend and decided to grease some of the shapes by hand (with oil) and leave some ungreased.  You can tell in the picture with the orange tray that the bottom row was definitely ungreased.  So, DO grease the trays.  Makes for easier clean up.

I cooked the orange tray for 5 minutes in the microwave.  I could have tried 4:30.  They're still pretty moist, but it's worth a try to do less time.

I added some cocoa to the batter for my blue tray (bugs) and cooked those for 3 minutes.  Some of them came out a bit hard, like a microwave can do; perhaps it's because there were only 5 muffins, and not a full tray.  I thought it strange that the bigger muffins needed less time to cook.

When I took the orange tray out of the microwave, it smelled a little plastickey -- not a smell I want to have if I'm going to be eating something.  From the research I've done, these silicone trays should not seep into your food.

I'm pleased with the results; however, my paranoid side says:
1.  You used a baking mix!!!  This is not from scratch!
2.  You used cinnamon chips!  Do you know what is in those things?
3.  I cooked in silicone.
4.  I cooked in the microwave!
5.  The first batch smelled like plastic!