Weekly Photo 9/52 for 2013: Cheese Steak Peppers

Weekly Photo 9/52 for 2013: Philly Cheese Steak Peppers by Kristen Koster on FlickrToday’s weekly photo post is of our lunch the other day and it probably looks familiar if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook. The original recipe for Philly Cheese Steak Peppers had a few things we don’t typically like, so I fiddled a little.

Settings: Sony SLT-A33 • 1/50 • ƒ/4.5 • ISO 1000 • 28 mm

Philly Cheese Steak Peppers

8 oz sliced Roast Beef
8 slices provolone cheese
2 large green peppers
1 medium onion (I used ready-cut diced onions and eyeballed it)
4 oz jar of Green Giant sliced mushrooms
2-3 Tbs butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 pinch salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400˚F (205˚C).

Slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and any seeds.

Slice onions and mushrooms, if they’re not already. Sauté over medium heat with butter, minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until veggies are soft and begin to caramelize.

Slice roast beef into thin strips (small squares might work better) and add meat to the onions and mushrooms in the pan. Cook 5-10 minutes, tossing well to blend.

Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese. Push it down in there. Then, fill peppers with 1/4 of meat mixture each. They shouldn’t quite overflow. If you’re worried, stuff it down in there tighter. Top with another slice of cheese. (I folded these in half so they fit our peppers better and more would end up on the meat and not the bottom of the baking dish.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cheese on top is golden brown. (We baked ours for the full 20 minutes and the cheese was too dark for our liking and the peppers were still a bit crunchy. You could solve this by blanching or nuking the peppers slightly before stuffing and adding the cheese on 5 minutes into cooking.)

Weekly Photo 7/52 for 2013: Bird of Paradise

Weekly Photo: 7/52 Bird of Paradise by Kristen Koster on FlickrToday’s weekly photo post shows off the brilliant color of the birds of paradise just beyond our pool. This photo was taken around 5pm and our property is tucked down over the hill from where the sun sets, so the lighting is all indirect and muted.

Even in the low light, these flowers shine with an inner glow.

Settings: Sony SLT-A33 • 1/160 • ƒ/4 • ISO 400 • 100 mm

Weekly Photo 6/52 for 2013: Almond Blossoms

Weekly Photo: 6/52 Almond Blossoms by Kristen Koster on flickrToday’s weekly photo post is of one of our two almond trees which has begun to blossom. The crows tend to get all the nuts before we even have an inkling that they might be ready. Apparently, almond trees are a lot of work to harvest and require quite a bit of pampering so that the crows don’t steal all your hard work anyway. Oh well.

I love how the blossoms cluster like that.

Settings: Sony SLT-A33 • 1/500 • ƒ/5.6 • ISO 800 • 300 mm

Weekly Photo 1/52 for 2013: Camelia

Weekly Photo (1/52) Close-up of a camelia bloom by Kristen Koster on FlickrAs some of you know, last year I started a 365 project where you take and post a picture for every day of the year. I stalled out in September and even though I tried to pick it up again in October, the momentum was gone. This year, I decided to take a lot of the pressure off and only require myself to post one weekly photo, although I may take lots more. Downloading my camera and posting the pictures wasn’t the hard part. Some days it was just getting outside to take a picture. Sure I had my iPhone with me, but I don’t like the picture quality as well and it felt like cheating when the whole point of the project was to learn how to use my dSLR better. And I think I made great progress toward that goal.

I hope you enjoy these posts and looking at the year to come through my lens with me!

Your Turn: What are you doing for fun, relaxation and to feed your creative muse this year?

Hello 2013 Goals, Thanks 2012!

Photo of hydrangea by Kristen Koster on flickr.comMy accountability group just kicked off a new year with new goals and are continuing with our How I Write series. This week, the question asked was, “What is one thing you’re going to do to refocus your 2013 goals that you learned in 2012?”

Each year I always seem to bite off more than I can chew. Always with the best intentions, of course. And always in the name of balance. I’ve tried several different methods of organizing my goals and what seemed to work best was a breakdown by quarters.

Last year, I had great plans to write a book along with my local RWA Chapter’s challenge participants. Life had other ideas. I’m refocusing on that book this year, but instead of just jumping in and running, I have a concrete step by step plan to see it all the way through.

Likewise, I did really well with my Project365 progress up until a certain point last year. I had worried about keeping up with such an ambitious project every day, but had settled into a comfortable routine until, it broke. This year, I will be focusing on one photo post per week, taking a lot of the pressure off.

This year, in pretty much all areas, I’m focusing on quality over quantity and approaching everything with a plan before execution, taking smaller bites. I’ve also learned that I absolutely must put my writing at a higher priority and I can’t be content to stay safe in my comfort zone.

So far, the momentum is off to a great start and I’m looking forward to keeping it building through out the year. Stay tuned, there are 51 Weeks to go!

Your Turn: What are you going to do different this year to reach your goals?


And if you’d like to read what the rest of my accountability group is changing this year based on lessons learned, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris * Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney

2012 Photo Challenge: Week 42

Week 42 of our 365 Photo Challenge.

I spent most of the past week in an allergy med-inuduced fog. So, I’m afraid it wasn’t a very interesting week photo-wise, but I took ’em!

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’m posting for this photo challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

Photo Challenge: 288/366 Garage
Sun: Oct 14, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 289/366 Fallen Berries
Mon: Oct 15, 2012
Photo Challenge: 290/366 Dewey Clover
Tue: Oct 16, 2012
Photo Challenge: 291/366 Lantana
Wed: Oct 17, 2012
Photo Challenge: 292/366 Succulents
Thu: Oct 18, 2012
Photo Challenge: 293/366 Woodpecker Evidence
Fri: Oct 19, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 294/366 Another Succulent
Sat: Oct 20, 2012

2012 Photo Challenge: Week 41

Week 41 of our 365 Photo Challenge.

It’s been hard getting back in the habit this past week. I’ve had to resort to using pictures from my phone and have a VERY wide variety in subjects this week. But hey, I’m hanging in there!

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’m posting for this photo challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

Photo Challenge: 281/366 Thor! For your Marvelous Fish Tank
Sun: Oct 7, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 282/366 Callistemon
Mon: Oct 8, 2012
Photo Challenge: 283/366 Lion's Tail (Leonotis menthifolia)
Tue: Oct 9, 2012
Photo Challenge: 284/366 Autumn
Wed: Oct 10, 2012
Photo Challenge: 285/366 Marrow Bone
Thu: Oct 11, 2012
Photo Challenge: 286/366 Waiting For the Kids
Fri: Oct 12, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 287/366 Door Medallion
Sat: Oct 13, 2012

2012 Photo Challenge: Week 40

Week 40 of our 365 Photo Challenge.

I fell off the wagon in a big way during September. Everyone here was sick at the end of August, just in time for the school year to begin. It took about 3 weeks to fully recover from the plague that descended upon our house, and even then it took a while longer to get back into the swing of things emotionally. A shortage of sleep certainly didn’t help matters and the dog makes sneaking in those middle of the day naps difficult to time.

I did take photos for week 35 (End of August) also, but they’re over in the flickr set, not posted here. Similarly, I’ve posted one of the 184 or so pictures I took during September that is going to count for that month and placed it here for the 30th’s slot. See, I took lots of pictures last month, just not spread out over the course of the month. Looking back, you can see how she’s losing her puppy looks (she’ll be 8 months next week!) and posing in what our son calls her “Majestic Golden Retriever” look.

One quarter left, only 12 more weeks really. I can do this! Stay tuned to see what the rest of the year holds!

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’m posting for this challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

256/366 Olivia
Wed: Sep 12, 2012
  275/366 Silk Floss Tree (Chorisia speciosa)
Mon: Oct 1, 2012
276/366 Silk Floss Tree (Chorisia speciosa)
Tue: Oct 2, 2012
277/366 "Fall" Foliage
Wed: Oct 3, 2012
278/366 Callistemon
Thu: Oct 4, 2012
279/366 Hummingbird
Fri: Oct 5, 2012
  280/366 Sunrise, Mt. Woodson
Sat: Oct 6, 2012

2012 Photo Challenge: Week 34

Week 34 of our 365 Photo Challenge.

Back to school, a plague upon our house, what else could go wrong? Kind of a variety of subjects this week. Some with the dSLR, some with the iPhone. Even played with Photoshop a little with one of them. Can’t believe this week will be September already!

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’m posting for this photo challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

Photo Challenge: 232/366 Again? Really? Okay...
Sun: Aug 19, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 233/366 New Solar Panels
Mon: Aug 20, 2012
Photo Challenge: 234/366 Morning Sun Behind Clouds
Tue: Aug 21, 2012
Photo Challenge: 235/366 Rose
Wed: Aug 22, 2012
Photo Challenge: 236/366 I Can Haz Nanner 2?
Thu: Aug 23, 2012
Photo Challenge: 237/366 Time Lapse Pup
Fri: Aug 24, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 238/366 Morning Dew
Sat: Aug 25, 2012

2012 Photo Challenge: Weeks 32 & 33

What you see below are links to my flickr set for the photos I’m posting for this photo challenge. Click on any photo below to go to flickr and then you can navigate through the set with the “Previous” and “Next” arrows at the top.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here as we try to get ready for going back to school. It’s hard to believe both kids will be in high school this year. The dog is still stealing my time as well as the show. I’ve found it very difficult to remember to pick up my camera most of the time, so I haven’t had much choice in what I have managed to shoot each day. It’s pretty bad when my mother had to remind me that I haven’t remembered to post these recently either.

Week 32 of our 365 Photo Challenge.

Photo Challenge: 218/366 Shake!
Sun: Jul 08, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 219/366 But Mom, it was open!
Mon: Jul 09, 2012
Photo Challenge: 220/366 Dog Rescue Casualty
Tue: Jul 10, 2012
Photo Challenge: 221/366 Duck!
Wed: Jul 11, 2012
Photo Challenge: 222/366 Lobster Roll
Thu: Jul 12, 2012
Photo Challenge: 223/366 3 days later
Fri: Jul 13, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 224/366 Relaxing in the Shade
Sat: Jul 14, 2012

Week 33

Photo Challenge: 225/366 Disturbing Spiderballs
Sun: Jul 08, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 226/366 Tree in Light & Shadow
Mon: Jul 09, 2012
Photo Challenge: 227/366 Oleander
Tue: Jul 10, 2012
Photo Challenge: 228/366 Roses
Wed: Jul 11, 2012
Photo Challenge: 229/366 Soccer Foul?
Thu: Jul 12, 2012
Photo Challenge: 230/366 Pool Deck
Fri: Jul 13, 2012
  Photo Challenge: 231/366 Reflection
Sat: Jul 14, 2012