Yeee-ha for the Canucks, Pakistan Cricket Update and Chicken Pot Pie

YEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!  Vancouver must be bubbling over with glee at the moment because in Ice Hockey news, the Vancouver Canucks have made their way into the next round of the Stanley Cup play-offs by just barely beating the Blackhawks in game 7 by one overtime goal.  RIGHT ON CANUCKS!!!

It looked like it was curtains for the lovely Vancouver lads of the ice rink; Luongo himself perhaps may have even felt a little lost as the Canucks headed into this game 3-3.   The Canucks were indeed leading 3-0 and proceeded to be clobbered senseless 3 times by the Blackhawks...things must have been grim and dark, but the lads fought back today, and all of Vancouver is hollering their support for Luongo and the lads.  Go Luongo, Go Canucks!

Lucious Luongo, doin' his thing, the way it oughtta be.

And not only that, there's more.  It's a beautiful afternoon because my lovely lads of cricket, the Pakistan Cricket team, have been looking really good, not just in the handsome department, but in the WIN department.  That's right, they lost the first and only ODI against the Windies, but since then they've won 2 ODI's and they have won in style.  Just look at these visions of awesomeness: 

Shahid Afridi, there's a collect call for you....will you accept the "awesome" charges?



Saeed Ajmal, Poetry in Motion!



Ahmed Shehzad, a vision in ton-netry.

 And let's not forget my favourite, Misbah ul-Haq.  He's making up for his lacklustre performance at the World Cup with his batting in this ODI series.  Keep it up, cuz I'm lovin' every run you've made against the Windies!

How can you not fall in love with that style?  Misbah ul-Haq ...raqs!!!

Right, now all that yakkity-yakking has made me hungry.  Let's not fool around with niceties.  Let's make a chicken pot pie because it's cold out and a growing girl needs nourishment.  C'mon men, put on your big boy panties and a hair net because the kitchen is calling.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients
About 2 cups of raw chicken, diced (use thigh meat for more flavour)
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 carrot, diced
2 or 3 stalks of celery, diced
some chopped mushrooms
1 small zucchini, diced
1 green chili, diced (optional)
a handful of green beans, roughly chopped
1 large potato, diced
a bit of oil for cooking
about two tablespoons of flour
some water
about 2 cups of chicken broth.
salt and pepper
1/2 a pastry recipe (see below)

Right. Put a bit of oil in a saucepan and sautee the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and mushrooms for a few minutes, until the onions are golden.
Add the chicken, and brown it, making sure you don't burn anything.
Add the broth, salt and pepper and the rest of the veg, including the potatoes.
Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about ten minutes or so, on low heat.
In a cup of cold water, add the flour and stir thoroughly.  Then add this to the chicken and veg that's cooking in the pot; this will thicken it up.
Place the chicken stew in a baking dish.
Cover with the pastry, cutting some slits in the top so the steam can escape.
Bake at 200 C or 400 F until the pastry is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Pastry recipe (just use about half for this chicken pot pie recipe)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
5 - 6 tablespoons ICE COLD water

Cut the butter into the flour and salt with a pastry cutter or two knives.
Stir in the water, but don't handle the dough too much.
Roll out the dough on a floured board, and place on top of the chicken pot pie filling.

Okay, there's yer dinner, so quit whining that I don't show you how to feed yourselves.  I'm so nice to you it's ridiculous.  Anyways, have fun watching the cricket, and I'll see you all back here soon.  Go Pakistan!  Go Canucks!

Happy Cricket, Happy Hockey, and Happy Luongo!