Painting The Sky

February 19, 2011 by Night Owl Leave a Comment

Sky Background Upside Down

I’ve decided to be brave and started my new painting. It’s the one of the beautiful tree with a hidden surprise. My art instructor suggested I use ultramarine blue at the top and cerulean blue at the bottom for the sky — both mixed with white, of course.

Yes. The canvas is upside down.

I started painting the sky in class. I mixed together one of the blues with a generous helping of white, then added a dab of Acrylic Glazing Liquid to increase the open time (in other words, make the paint dry slower, so I could blend). But it just wasn’t working.

So, I brought the canvas home and tried again. I added a bit more AGL and some water. This just made a mess.

Ugh!

Then I decided to read the bottle. I’m sure you can tell where I’m headed.

Apparently, if you’re wanting to increase the blendability of your acrylics, you need to use a 1:1 ratio of AGL to paint. Oooooo! Guess it helps if I use enough, huh?

So, once I figured that out, the colors blended together beautifully. Now, time to draw the tree…

Filed Under: Art · Tagged With:

Shepherd Pie Recipe

February 18, 2011 by Night Owl Leave a Comment

Shepherd's PieI am itching to try new recipes lately, so when I saw Shepherd Pie on another website, I thought I’d give it a whirl. Most of the ingredients are items I have on hand and it didn’t look hard to make.

So, I started by gathering the ingredients:

  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8-10 oz frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1.5 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/4 cup of worstershire
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 brown gravy mix
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Mashed Potatoes
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, finely chopped onion and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
We always like to add extra butter. Yes, we like a little potatoes with our butter…

Frozen Veggies
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside.
I cheated and used the microwave in bag frozen veggies. And I didn’t mash them up either. That just sounded yucky.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
Hamburger
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, worstershire, brown gravy and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
That’s my son stirring the hamburger mixture. He’s so sweet!

Hamburger
Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of peas and carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
Oops! Forgot to add shredded cheese on top. Oh well!

Top of Shepherd's Pie
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Overall, I was disappointed. Perhaps I expected more of a pot pie flavor? It was edible, and fairly pleasant tasting — just not what I wanted. That said, tonight is leftover night — it’s this or spaghetti. Hmmm…

P.S. Just found out CW absolutely loved this stuff and can’t wait until we make it again. Go figure…


Filed Under: Foodies · Tagged With:
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »