Whole foods - Chicken Tetrazzini

I'm the first to admit that I'm lazy when it comes to cooking. I just don't enjoy cooking a delicious meal. I certainly enjoy devouring it though! So, due to said laziness, I normally cook from a jar, a can or a sachet, resulting in oodles of rubbish.

So I thought I'd give whole foods ago. It's better on all accounts: fresher, healthier and cheaper.

Monday night I made stuffed mushrooms with sundried tomatoes and fetta, served with rosemary and mint lamb sausages, and boy was it delicious!

Last night was Chicken Tetrazzini, and I took the recipe from the Whole Foods website (don't get me started on how I wish we had Whole Foods here in Australia). I never got to the baking stage though; J decided he was too hungry to wait so we ate it as pasta, and not a casserole!

Recipe:

Natural cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound whole wheat or spelt angel hair pasta
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup low-fat milk
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups chopped cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
4 tablespoons finely chopped chives, divided

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes; drain well and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer to bowl with pasta and set aside.

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth then slowly whisk in broth and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook 1 minute more. Add milk mixture to bowl with pasta and mushroom mixture along with chicken, 4 tablespoons of the cheese and 2 tablespoons of the chives and toss gently to combine. Transfer to prepared dish, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese and 2 tablespoons chives and bake until hot throughout and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Waste? Only the plastic bag I froze the chicken breasts in, and the tiny wrapper for the chicken stock cube. I am going to start using ziplock bags to store my meat, and sanitize them after each use.

Tonight we are feasting on "autumn lamb casserole", also from the Whole Foods website. It's already cooking in the slow cooker, so it will be ready to eat when we get home from work. I love coming home to a delicious smelling house, with tea already cooked!

Dilemmas

I know going green isn't easy, but I am really struggling with a few things. I definitely need to work on these- suggestions most welcome.

Online shopping

I buy most of my clothes online - mostly vintage from etsy, bras from Victoria's Secret, and the occasional Forever 21 order. I buy online for a few reasons, but mainly because prices (and customer service standards) here in Australia are atrocious, and I prefer shopping from the comfort of the couch while wearing PJs.

• Pros:
• It's much cheaper than buying in Australia
• Buying vintage clothes is a form of recycling
• I can ask etsy sellers to use minimal/recycled packaging

• Cons:
• Plastic packaging from stores is usually excessive
• Carbon emissions - but I live in the country so I would be driving for half an hour to shop in person anyway (I'm sure a plane uses much more fuel than my car though!)

(image from Art.com)

Dog food
 
I have two lovely munchkins, who eat both tinned food and dry biscuits. They're both active sheepdogs so they eat a fair bit too. I hate how dog biscuits only come in plastic bags, plus I am throwing out (into the recycling bin, mind you) one large tin a day. I have been thinking about making my own dog food, but I will need to investigate it further to see if we can afford it - you see, we're on a very strict budget too!

Cling wrap vs reusable plastic containers

I take my lunch to work most days, and I use either a Tupperware container or a bowl with cling wrap. I know some people are utterly anti-plastic for storing food, but I'm not (maybe I should be though?). I figure if I already own a bunch of plastic storage containers, shouldn't I use them? I think that would be better than using cling wrap every day to cover my salad or leftovers.

Driving to work

I live about 20km away from my work. The majority of it is 100km/hr highway, then about 5km of town. I was thinking of permanently leaving my bicycle at a relatives house who lives on the fringe of town, so I could leave my car there each morning and peddle the rest of the way. I don't know if this will save much fuel, and I'm a bit apprehensive as there aren't any bike tracks (I'd be riding on the road).

My progress so far

The good stuff:

♡ I only wash full loads of laundry in cold water, and we don't own a dryer
♡ We use a water saving shower head, and I don't shower every day (sponge bath in between)
♡ We have solar hot water
♡ We don't have mains water connected, only tank water (which isn't by choice, but turning out better now that we're actually getting some rain)
♡ I buy secondhand where I can -around 85% of my clothes are purchased secondhand
♡ I use green grocery bags most of the time
♡ I carry Baggu and Envirosax shopping bags in my handbag
♡ I put on an extra layer of clothes before turning on the heater
♡ I sewed my own netting bags to use for fruit and veggies, but I don't have enough
♡ I make my own laundry powder from borax, washing soda and Lux flakes
♡ All foodscraps go to either the chooks, the dog or the compost bin
♡ I have a veggie patch, but  I am new to growing veggies so it's a bit hit and miss at the moment
♡ I recycle fairly diligently
♡ I try to buy my fresh produce from local grocers, butchers and bakers
♡ I use a hot water bottle instead of an electric blanket


The not-so-good stuff:

♡ I drive to work each day by myself. We live over 20km away from work, and there is no public transport available. There really isn't anyone to carpool with either (believe me - I've signed up to carpooling websites).
♡ My partner and I can be pretty slack with cooking meals, so we occasionally have takeaway. Some takeaway = plastic packaging.
♡ We eat a lot of plastic-packaged foods, and use a lot of pre-made ingredients (sauces, marinades)
♡ We have three reptile enclosures that require 24/7 heat - I should insulate their enclosures better to retain more heat
♡ Our fridge is right next to the stove/oven - I need to insulate this too
♡ I still use paper towel / tissues – trying to get out of this habit


What extra can I do?

♡ Unplug unused electrical items at the wall
♡ Buy biodegradable dishwashing liquid, and bucket the laundry / dish water out onto the grass (if safe)
♡ Limit takeaway foods to those with recyclable packaging
♡ Try to plan our meals around mainly whole foods, and not prepackaged items

Can you think of anything else I could do?

Day 1

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Ruby - I'm a 20-something librarian, studying IT, living in country Victoria with my partner and lots of critters. I'm also a vintage blogger - Fifties Fever is my other little piece of the web.

I've created this blog because my interest in being green doesn't really fit in the scope of my vintage blog, and sustainability is definitely something I want to seriously pursue. So stay tuned!