Yellow Bird art- with a great dinner recipe!

A cute little yellow-breasted bird seems to be waiting for his evening meal to come along.
Painted on a 6" x 6" x 1.5" deep wrapped canvas (no frame needed- all sides painted) with palette knives and loaded brushes for a thick texture.

Speaking of an evening meal... here is a great recipe you should try!

Un-Stuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole
Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 2 T minced onion
• 1 T minced garlic (fresh)
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 head green cabbage
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, un-drained
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups cooked brown rice 
• 4 oz. Monterrey Jack and/or Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Salt & pepper, as needed

Directions
Begin by browning the ground beef and turkey together in a large skillet.  Add in 2 T minced onion and 1 T minced garlic.  Season with 1/2 tsp. paprika and salt and pepper.  Brown the meats until no longer pink and then drain any excess grease. 

Add in 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained, and 1 can tomato sauce.  Rinse the cans out with water (totaling about 1/4 C) and add the rinse water to the skillet.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, chop up the head of cabbage.  To do so, was the outside, then cut the head of cabbage in half.  Core carefully, and then rinse the cabbage again.

Slice the cabbage into 1-2 inch pieces. 
Using a second, really large skillet, sauté the cabbage for 5-7 minutes, until partially cooked.  Season with salt and pepper.  If you don’t have a big enough skillet, cook half the cabbage at a time.
Transfer the half of the cabbage to the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish.  When you do so, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
Now, add in the cooked 2 C of brown rice to your tomato dish simmering on the stove.  Heat until warmed. 
Layer half of the meat tomato mixture over the cabbage. Top that with remaining cabbage. Finish off the dish with the other half of the meat tomato sauce.
Then, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, covered.  

Remove the cover after 35-40 minutes and top the dish with shredded cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Leftovers are pretty great too. MaLee enjoyed a touch of the turkey meat, and a pinch of the cheddar cheese. She says,YUM!"

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Catching up! New paintings, and a great recipe!!!

It is good to be back! Sadly, (as in- No Fun), I haven't been farther than my own little square of south Texas. I've been busy with ripping out carpet, having new wood floors laid, and re-locating my art studio from one room to another in our home, while updating my Etsy Shop, trying to figure out a new cellphone- and a new P/C... my brain has been quiet overloaded to say the least! What a job learning new things - too many- all at once.And, I am not a fan of remodeling, nor moving- anything (other than my body- only because I have to)... Can I get an AMEN?  :)

Thankfully,I am now enjoying my new art studio. I have my dining room back, so we can have room to feed our guest again! 

Speaking of feeding our guest, I've included a wonderful recipe (see below) I recently tried. My hubby and I fell in love with it. Easy, healthy, and quick is my motto for cooking!

Boots and Flowers, using a palette knife and loaded brushes small painting 5" x 7" x 1.5" deep, wrapped canvas- no frame needed!

"Domino" a cow portrait painted in oils with a palette knife and loaded brushes. 6" x 6" x 1.5" deep, wrapped canvas- no frame needed!

Healthy and Delicious Mexican Baked Fish 

Bake this Mexican baked fish as hot or mild as you like. Serve with black bean soup, or a healthy green salad. 

Ingredients

                     1 1/2 pounds cod

                   1 cup salsa- or just cover the fish with the salsa- how ever much it takes!

                    1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

                                1/2 cup coarsely crushed corn chips- or salad topping strips. I use the Santa Fe flavor- YUM!

*** light sour cream, fresh avocado slices

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees OR at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes if your baking dish is glass. Lightly grease your baking dish. I use butter flavored Crisco spray.

2. Some may just pat the fish dry after rinsing it, but I prefer to lightly pre-cook my fish in a skillet on my stove top- removing any extra water from the fish.Lay fillets side by side in the prepared baking dish. Pour the salsa over the top, and sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese. Top with the crushed corn chips.

3.  Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 15 minutes- 22 minutes ( depending on your baking dish and temperature), or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork. 

Serve topped with freshly sliced avocado and  light sour cream, if desired, or Pico de Gallo, my husband's favorite.

*** Catfish, or any other type of fish works great, as well as chicken if preferred!

ENJOY!

Thanks for reading and looking at my art work.Please come back!

Blessings,

Sandra Cutrer

Fine Art

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

First of all, I hope you all had a wonderful and VERY blessed Christmas! MaLee traveled back "home" to Louisiana with us, loving every mile on the road, as she sat on her comfy pillow. Sadly, I had to leave her in our hotel room on Christmas Day, because a friend of the family, who would be sharing Christmas dinner with us, is allergic to kitties. Poor guy. MaLee didn't seem to mind, as we found her exactly where we left her, in the desk chair, fast asleep (and no, we did not leave her with her antlers attached). She was happy to smell the small serving of Honey Baked Ham we were able to confiscate for her, almost inhaling it. Not that she doesn't love her kitty food, but because ham is a treat for anyone, or Malee and I sure think so!

I was happy to be with family, and happy to come home.There truly is NO PLACE LIKE HOME, or so it seems the older we become. We spent New Year's eve, chatting on our sofa, and talking about things we hope we will see for a New and happy year in 2017. NO matter what challenges we had in 2016, we choose to NOT look back, but learn, and look forward to what our Lord has in store for us, as these next 365 days lay ahead, all planned for us by Him.

We hope your New Year brings peace, happiness and great health to you and yours!

Thank you for your following, your support of my art this year, and for reading my blog.You are all a blessing, and I look forward to sharing more art work, and more fun with MaLee soon!

Blessings to all,

Sandra Reeves Cutrer 

Fine Art

Some of my favorite work this last year:

Rooster, Funky Chicken, original art, oils on canvas

The sketch is complete. Keeping it simple is best. 

***Make sure you click on the sketch to enlarge it for a better view! Each photo posted can be enlarged, just click on the photo, then click the X on the right hand corner to take you back to the original size.

I'm applying the darkest 'darks' first. Always with oils, the darkest colors are placed in the first layer.

Here I am what I call, "Messing around". Not sure what I like and don't like yet, but going with what I feel.

As you can see, I did not care for the flowers in the background.I think they over-shadowed the rooster, which I want to be my focus, not the flowers. I know, I could have blending them out, but it just didn't feel right for me. 

The finished product! I love his colors, and I am happier with this colorful and flowing background choice. I have titles him, "Funky Chicken". Heck, if people can have purple heads, so can a rooster! I can see the hens coming in a flutter of flying feathers... say that really fast...

Contact me if you'd like to purchase this painting, or scroll through my blog until you see the large ETSY icon, click on it, and it will take you directly to my shop. "Funky Chicken" is for sale!

Malee enjoys watching me paint, and I think I have her approval on this one.Sometimes she is hard to read.  I'm pretty sure she likes the blue hues in this painting, They match her gorgeous eyes.
Thank you for looking at my art work, and reading my blog!

Blessings,
Sandra Cutrer
Fine Art

Cow, curly hair, vibrant colors

The finished product!

In my last blog, I shared the process of this adorable cow being sketched, and layers of paint being added. Here he is- finished and ready to hang in a lucky buyer's home or office! I think he is adorable. I love animals (if you haven't figured that out yet, please visit my blog paintings or Etsy shop!). Who would not love to have this hanging in a favorite spot for a pop of vibrant color- and fun!!! *** Please click on the painting to enlarge the picture.He is painted on a 12" x 12 x 1.5" deep wrapped canvas (all sides painted a dark hue, no frame needed).

I think MaLee approves! 

My husband and I, along with our MaLee, hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We, as usual, tried not to eat too much... we did try...


I hope will return to see my next creation!

Blessings,
Sandra Cutrer
Fine Art

Cow with curls oil painting in the process, with a cat's critique!

If you are new to my blog, welcome. You will soon see that I am very fond of all animals, and I really enjoy painting them. The eyes are usually my focal point, but not always.

My sketch is ready for painting! * You can click on any of the photos to see them in larger pixels!

As usual, I am laying in the darkest of the dark colors, usually called the under-painting. The under-painting is very important if you plan on having a good painting!With oil paint, the darkest colors should go on first. I love painting with oils, because they are so forgiving- meaning, they can be moved around, or easily removed from your canvas. I really enjoy their creamy texture, and yes, I do love the smell of oil paints! They remind me of my childhood, when I would save my weekly allowance in order to buy a paint--by-number set from our local discount store.

I think he is coming along nicely! I've been very blessed to be able to paint on our outdoor,covered patio while the cooler weather moves in and out here in south Texas. Some days have been in the sixties, while some days are back up to the eighty-plus degree mark.

And, of course, I couldn't paint quite as well if I didn't have our loving MaLee watching my paint brush move around on my canvas with such intense interest. I am never sure if she is helping me with some sort of 7th sense, or just wondering if  all of this "fuss" is worth such precious time when I could be fetching her a fresh bowl of tuna?

I hope you are enjoying my work, and will soon return for the finished product.

If you aren't back until next week, make sure to have a wonderful and blessed THANKSGIVING! Truly, we should be thankful, not only on this coming Thursday, but every wonderful day! We are all truly blessed and favored by GOD!

Blessings,
Sandra Cutrer
Fine Art

Rooster, original oil painting,

Here is a light sketch on canvas of my rooster idea.I know it is hard to see, but the lighter the sketch, the least likely pencil strokes will show through the oil paint I'll apply.

I am so guilty of forgetting to stop when I am on a roll with my paint brush, that I sometimes forget to take photos of my first few stages! But, you can see here that I have yet to put in the background in the "sky" area, and then add the bright blues to the tail feathers. I also made some tweaks to the  area around the rooster, since I was not happy with having too much darkness near his head.

I'm enjoying painting  inside our lovely covered patio since this cooler weather has decided to finally make its entrance, rather late this year I might add. I am hoping it last.One never knows in south Texas what the weather will decide to do!

I am pretty pleased with these eye-catching bright and cheerful colors on this rooster painting.I hope you've enjoyed reading my post, and browsing my art for sale.Please come back soon.I have another rooster painting I'm working on right now. I think this autumn weather has me in the mood for gorgeous colors!

Be blessed,
Sandra Cutrer, Fine Art