Pinkies Cooler

The weather in Atlanta is supposed to cool down a little this weekend, but it’s still going to be HOT.  Give this recipe a try.  It will be a nice treat when sitting on the balcony of your apartment or out by the pool!  Great for kids too!

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and red food coloring; allow to cool. Store in a squeeze bottle for easy use.
2. Fill glasses halfway with ice. Add 1 tablespoon syrup, then top with 8 ounces lemon-lime soda. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

(Credit: AllRecipes.com)

Say no to Sloppy Joe!

Remember Sloppy Joes from your school lunch?  Well, a recent Yahoo report claims that the average Sloppy Joe sandwich served in school lunches is packing a lot more than just loose meat.  In fact, each sandwich tops 600 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat!  Yikes!

As Preston Mill families ready to send their kids back to school, it’s important that we remember how important proper nutrition is for our children.  The fact is that we can’t always rely on the school systems to be a primary source of good food.  Especially when it comes to meat.  The Yahoo article goes on to inform us that in 2009, USA Today reported that “In the past three years, the government has provided the nation’s schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants.”

So as parents and concerned citizens, what can we do?
There are, in fact, actions that we can take to work to improve our children’s nutrition, such as making our children’s lunch ourselves.  To see more tips, and to find out what some of the other foods that are served in school lunches that you might want to keep your kids away from, check out this article: 10 of the Worst School Foods.

(Photo Credit: superdupermanda)

Poll: I’ll take a (fill in the blank) on wheat, please!

So many sandwiches, so little time!  We all have our favorites.  Mine is half-turkey, half-pastrami with lettuce and provolone.  What about you?  If you had two pick between two of the most common sandwich types, Preston Mill, which would you pick?  Take our sandwhich survey (in the column to the right).

Bacon and Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Memorial Day is just about here, Preston Mill.  Not only should we take a moment to remember those who fought for our freedoms, but we should celebrate those freedoms as well – and what better way to celebrate than with a cookout!  The weather in Atlanta will be warm as usual (now if we can just avoid the rain that might hit) so I hope everyone can enjoy the long weekend.  Check out this deviled egg recipe I found on AllRecipes.com.

Bacon and Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Wine About the Economy

Looking to kick back and un”wine”d with a nice glass of wine (do you see a theme to this posting)?  Well, on June 12 from 5pm to 9pm, Downtown Merchants in Newnan will kick off their first annual Wine About event on Main Street.

Over 15 varietes of wines will be available for sampling and each attendee will take home a commemorative wine glass.  The theme for the first event is “Wine About the Economy.”  There will also be meal specials offered and live entertainment.

Tickets are on sale in advance for $20 and can be purchased at Let Them Eat Toffee, RS Mann Jeweler, Morgan Jeweler, Panoply Interior Design, Fabianos and The Knitting Nook, among other downtown Newnan stores.

Atlanta Beer Week!

Atlanta Beer Week is the first of its kind in the city. Now through the 22nd, they want Atlantans to celebrate good beer. No. These guys want Atlantans to celebrate great beer. They want people to enjoy events at artisanal breweries, sample beers from all over the nation and around the world and support the thriving beer culture here in Atlanta.

The idea is that for one week, May 16th-22nd, all of the great beer bars, beer stores, pubs, restaurants, brewpubs and breweries in the Atlanta area come together to celebrate all things hopsy. Housed in lots of different locations all over the city, you’ll find beer related events, beer tastings, beer dinners and special beer releases. It will be an action-packed week for sure.  Check it out.

“Take me out to the ball game…”

I’m a sports fan and I love attending live games.  Football, basketball, baseball, soccer – I’m a big fan at all levels.  With summer almost here and baseball season in full swing, I can’t help but think about my favorite part of attending ballgames…ballpark food.  You know: chilidogs, peanuts, pop corn, ice cold beer.  Ahhh…I can’t wait to get a game in.  I’m hoping to be able to catch the NY Mets when they come to town next week to play the Atlanta Braves.  In any case, all of this thinking of ballpark food is making me hungry.  Here’s a recipe for Chili Dog Casserole that I just found online.  Maybe it will satisfy my craving until I get the real deal.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Chili Dog Casserole

Ingredients:

• 8 hot dog buns
• 8 hot dogs
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Tear up the hot dog buns and arrange the pieces in the bottom of the dish evenly. Slice the hot dogs into bite size pieces and layer the pieces over the buns.
3. Pour the chili over the hot dogs, sprinkle with the chopped onion, then spread some mustard over the chili and the onion. Top off with the cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 608 | Total Fat: 41.4g | Cholesterol: 94mg

Broad Street Sweets is not just for your “sweet tooth”

I’m sure you’ve seen their building before near Newnan Square.  You know…the brown building with the pink trim.  Broad Street Sweets is known in the area for their coffee, specialty cakes and desserts, but they also have a nice array of sandwiches and salads…

Not just limited to baked goods, we pride ourselves on our specialty sandwiches.  Our Cuban and Muffuletta are renown.  We have great daily soup and sandwich combo’s .  Our chicken salad is a particular favorite with customers, we make it with apples, cherries and nuts.  We have an old-fashioned egg salad that is also a fan favorite.   Then there are our salads…Kimi’s Chinese Chicken , Chicken Waldorf, and a Caesar.  Our bowls of soup are served with your choice of French baguette or whole wheat table loaf. 

We serve Belgium waffles or French toast with fruit and whipped cream. You can grab breakfast all day!  Try a croissant with sausage, egg and cheese!

Look for the big pink cupcake on the sign and check them out!

Broad Street Sweets

13 East Broad Street
Newnan, GA 30263

770-68-FROST (37678)

Newnan is on the menu this Thursday

The 2010 Spring Taste of Newnan will be 5-8:30 p.m. on Thursday around the Court Square.  Unfamiliar with the event?  It’s when local restaurants, caterers and other organizations offer food and entertainment during the evening.

Huge crowds usually attend.  It works like this: you get a sampling of food from the restaurants and caterers in exchange for $1 tokens.  You must have the tokens to purchase items.  Tokens will be on sale throughout the event, but with a huge crowd the lines to purchase tokens are often long.

Tokens will be for sale in advance through the week at downtown Newnan merchants.  If you are planning on attending Taste, it will likely save you some time by purchasing your tokens in advance.

One GREAT weekend, several GREAT events!

Alright Preston Mill, this coming weekend is one of those weekends that make you love Atlanta. For the next few days, no one in the metro-Atlanta area can use the excuse that they couldn’t find anything fun to do. Music: check. Arts: check. Sports: check. Food, beer and wine: check. Outdoors: check. Traffic: check (hey, everything comes at a cost). It’s all here for the taking. Here is what you need to know:

Sweetwater 420 Festival

If listening to great music, sampling new microbrews and relaxing with your friends at a park (all for the low price of $5) sounds enticing, you’ll want to check out the Sweetwater 420 Festival schedule of events at Candler Park this Saturday, April 17 from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, April 18 from 12:30 to 8 p.m. Also to note, The Sweetwater 420 Festival is “pet friendly” as well as a very “green friendly” event. While Sweetwater is a local Atlanta brewery, and organization named Planet 420 (hence, Sweetwater 420) sponsors the event to promote education of earth friendly practices. Sounds like a win-win for all.

One of the coolest things about Sweetwater 420 is that the festival is located just two blocks from the Candler Park MARTA station. Head to the closest MARTA station and there is no need to worry about traffic or parking!

Atlanta Dogwood Festival

Along with serving as the unofficial start of spring, the historic Atlanta Dogwood Festival provides the opportunity to spend time with friends and family while providing a creative marketplace for many Atlanta artisans, as well as other artists from around the country. It goes on all day at Piedmont Park from April 16-18. Unfortunately, no pets are allowed.

Additionally, you can purchase tickets for the Homegrown Comedy Binge as well as the Friends of Dogwood Pavilion food and wine tasting experience. Participating restaurants include: Dolce, Nakato, Geisha House, Pacci, The Sun Dial, Taqueria del Sol and many others. Piedmont Park is also very much accessible by MARTA.

Sports

If basketball is your thing, snatch up a ticket to see the Atlanta Hawks first game in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. They start their best-of-seven series against the Milwaukee Bucks at Philips Arena on Saturday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m. The Atlanta Braves also have a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Turner Field this weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 16, 17 and 18).

I usually check craigslist first to see if I can snag a good deal on tickets!

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