Paula's on Main, Ft Wayne, Indiana review

It was my birthday and I wanted to try someplace new in Ft Wayne that we had never tried or even heard of. I searched Urban Spoon and found Paula's on Main. (Located just east of downtown Ft Wayne on Main street.


We both love fish, but I had no idea that this was an actual fresh fish market! We walked in to see a large variety of fish behind the counter!

We liked the atmosphere right away here.Very nice ambiance. 
We were escorted upstairs to a type of loft that over looked the bar. We were then seated at a lovely corner table. It wasn't long before we have a server attending us. 

We began with an appetizer of buffalo shrimp. The moment this was placed in front of us, the spice in it was penetrating my nose! It was hot and all we could do to eat only 3 each! Very good, but HOT!


I decided to order the Greek olive and tomato shrimp. I would never have placed this combination together, but it was quite good.


 Roger opted for a white fish with spinach and mushrooms. Excellent!


Overall, good service, great food, good atmosphere...Paula's on Main gets a 
*****5 out of 5 dinner stars from me!


Chicken Cordon Bleu

While searching for a good Christmas recipe to serve to my large family for dinner, I went in search of a good Cordon Bleu recipe. I found a few here and there, but wasn't crazy about the ingredients they were calling for. 

I decided to take what I knew about this dish and make it my own.


5 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. ( I use boneless chicken thighs) 
2 cups of chopped cooked ham ( I use end pieces )
2 jars of your favorite Alfredo sauce
9 slices of Swiss Cheese
1 head chopped broccoli
2 packages of Ritz cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter
1 Tbs chopped garlic

Cook and shred the chicken. Add chopped ham and broccoli and place in greased 9x13 pan. Pour Alfredo sauce over top and mix lightly. Place cheese on top of chicken and ham. Add garlic and melted butter to cracker crumbs sprinkle on top of dish. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes ( till broccoli is soft)

Serves 12-15 people.

Traders Point Creamery review


During my recent Photography travels, I find myself driving a couple hours to Indianapolis for sessions. This particular session was on a Sunday evening and my dear Husband wanted to tag along. This is not a normal occurrence, so I happily took him up on it.

For those of you who have never heard of this place, (as was the case with me) it is located just Northeast out of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is an actual working farm that freely invites people to come see and experience it. 

Everything grown here is organic from the grass fed cattle to the quaint garden. Once it
is ready to harvest, it goes to the restaurant called "The Loft". It is literally located in the loft of the large barn there.


When you walk through the door, you have entered the cheese store with every kind of cheese that I have never heard of, all made on site. We didn't spend a great deal of time in the store, but went straight upstairs to the loft where the restaurant was located.

The tables are elegantly draped with white table linens, real fresh flowers, and candles. We were seated at a middle table. The ceilings are actual loft height and are original beams and wood.

There are quaint country decor and multiple framed awards placed around.

As I glance over at the bar, something catches my eye. I quickly make the assessment that this might not be a cheap meal when I saw the $13 Banana split on the ice cream menu.

Our waitress comes to our table and is very sweet. She is also competing with a ton of large area overhead that is swallowing up her words making difficult to hear her. She is extremely versed in the menu and runs through several items on it giving great detail of the ingredients. Once in awhile, I can catch a price of $37. Did I mention that they are no prices listed on the menu? Honey, I hope you have the credit card.


We start with a garden salad. When it arrives, she places it gently on the table and stops to capture our reaction to it. It is truly a work of art! (and I'm pretty sure there are flowers in it that I grow myself at home) We smile at each other and agree that it's beautiful then proceed to try to figure out just what's in it! There is an orange flower on top that my Husband dares me to eat....so I do!

It was a good salad, not great, but had a nice and light oil dressing.

On the the main course. After attempting to figure out exactly what I'm in for, I stay safe ordering a cheeseburger and my Husband decides on Salmon.

She places my Husbands dinner in front of him and walks away. We both just kind of look at it. 
"I think you might have ordered an appetizer, Honey." We just start laughing! Our waitress returns shortly and we point to it and ask, "Is this what he ordered? 
The salmon, yes. 

"Where's the salmon?" 

Oh, it's mixed in there, see? 

"Oh ya." 

Huh?

She did offer to take it back and get him something else, but he refused and told her that is what he ordered, so he will eat it.

I shared my $17 cheeseburger (with spicy smoked cheese) with him.  The cheeseburger was good. The smoked cheese gave it a very nice kick. The salmon was actually very good!  Just not what we expected!

Needless to say, we were not stuffed after dinner and the organic ice cream did sound good, but not at $4 a scoop. We opted to go home.

Overall, this was a restaurant I will not quickly forget. The ambiance was lovely although it was difficult to hear our waitress. Do I think it was a little expensive? Yes.
 Overall I give this **** 4 out of 5 Dinner Stars.

Home made pizza

I had a goal this winter to learn to make yeast dough and I think I finally have it! 

This is my home made pizza recipe that my boys love!

I make my own sauce for a couple of reasons:
1. I don't like canned pizza sauce.
2. It's usually LOADED with sodium!

This is what I start with for the pizza sauce:

I like to use the tomato paste that already has the oregano and basil in it, but the store was out.

This batch will make enough for 6 pizza's. I only use 1 cup per pizza and make 2 pizzas at a time.
 I bag up two cups of sauce per freezer bags and save the rest. ( it thaws quickly)
The paste will thicken the puree nicely. This sauce only has 35mg of sodium!


To make my crust, I start with a small amount of warm, not hot, water in a cup. Keep in mind to decrease the water in the recipe to compensate for this. I add a little sugar and 1 packet of quick rise yeast. Let that sit for about 5 min or until foamy. If it doesn't get foamy in 5-10 minutes, the yeast is too old!


I start with my liquid ingredients first:
1/4 c oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
Yeast water

Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time.Mix well with a wire whisk until it looks like pancake batter. Keep adding flour by 1/2 c increments until you get to 2 1/2 c.

Knead dough in bowl until you can turn it out onto the counter top. Continue to knead for a GOOD 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth. 

Spray cooking spray in the same bowl and place dough inside. Spray the dough as well and cover with plastic wrap while rising. I let this rise for about an hour.

Punch down and roll out onto greased pizza pan. Spread 1 c sauce on top. Use your favorite toppings for your pizza. 

To finish, I melt 1/4 cup butter and add fresh garlic. Brush on the edges of your pizza before baking in a 400 oven.

Country Heritage Winery and Vineyard Review


It's that time of year again when we venture out into the cold months of winter to visit area wineries. We have heard of this particular winery from some friends of ours and since we were already heading North for the day, we decided to visit. 

Country Heritage Winery is located on St Rd 3 just about 20 minutes north of Fort Wayne. 


We liked this place right away for it's country flare. 

This is a novelty wine bottle holder


Jeremy and Jennifer Lutter opened this winery in 2011. The vines here are not all that old.


The featured wine was a semi sweet cranberry table wine. We liked it right away.


  The tasting itself was free and they actually gave us a fair amount of wine to taste. Many times free tastings are pretty skimpy on the amount they give you to taste.

My favorite was the Raspberry table wine. Raspberries can be smelled immediately along with a wonderful fruit taste. My husband tends to lean more toward the dryer wines, so we get a little of both. 

 All in all, I give Country Heritage Winery 5 out of 5 dinner stars for their wines and atmosphere.
*****

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is my mother's recipe. I make this every year for Christmas.
 
Stuffed Mushrooms
1 large pk of white mushrooms, washed and stems removed
1 1/2 cup crushed crackers (about 1 package of Ritz)
1 tbsp mined onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 egg
1 cup chopped ham ( I use cold meat)
1 stick butter

Wash mushrooms well and remove stems. Put stems aside in bowl. 
Melt 1/4 stick butter. Dip mushroom caps in butter, then place top down in pan ready to be stuffed.

Crush crackers and place in med bowl. Finely chop stems and add to crackers. Add onion, garlic, egg,  3/4 stick melted butter,and chopped ham. This makes your stuffing.

Use a spoon to stuff your mushrooms. They can be very full. 
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until brown on top. If I have other things in the oven, I can adjust the time.