
Balsamic vinegar is like ranch dressing’s healthy cousin — diverse enough to use in just about any and every recipe, but it doesn’t do what the white stuff does — ruin your diet. Usually confined to your typical Italian restaurant, balsamic vinegar doesn’t get the credit it deserves. But we’re here to change that. Get ready to glaze, drizzle, dip and bake your way into balsamic heaven.
1. Spinach and Mushroom Crepes With Balsamic Tomato Jam: Jam is, well, our jam. Get your canning on with this easy and beautiful recipe. (via Emma’s Little Kitchen)
2. Grilled Peaches With Rosemary and Balsamic Vinegar: Grilled fruits and veggies are a summertime staple. Mix sweet and sour with fruit and balsamic vinegar. (via The Framed Table)
3. Balsamic Vinaigrette Portobello Mushroom Burgers: Balsamic is a great way to vamp up a veggie recipe, and this version doesn’t disappoint. (via Tattooed Martha)
4. Balsamic Fig Glazed Pork With Blistered Cherry Tomatoes: The most gorgeous meal and it’s hearty enough for the harvest time of year. Invite friends over to celebrate the fall equinox or bring it along to your office Thanksgiving potluck. (via Half-Baked Harvest)
5. Balsamic Roasted Chickpeas: The cool thing about chickpeas is that you can roast them to your fancy. Amp up the oven temp for extra crunchy, or keep it on the down low for softer snacks. (via The Wheatless Kitchen)
6. Balsamic Roasted Cherry Brownies: Balsamic reductions are a fun secret ingredient for any recipe, dessert included. (via Glazed + Confused)
7. Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes: Another take on this goodie — tomatoes and balsamic go together like pumpkin spice and lattes. (via The Wimpy Vegetarian)
8. Slow Cooker Pot Roast With Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic is a great ingredient for any recipe that calls for grilling, roasting or marinating. (via Southern Fairytale)
9. Balsamic Strawberries With Ricotta Cream Maple Glazed Nuts: Nuts, grains and other trail mix ingredients are perfect opportunities for using a balsamic reduction. (via Half-Baked Harvest)
10. Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork: A great meal you can prep and throw in a slow cooker for the day and be done with when you get home at night, making it perfect for the workin’ woman or busy student. (via Just A Taste)
11. Easy Balsamic Chicken Skewers: Go for a light dinner with chicken skewers. Throw in some peaches for a sweet mixture of flavors. (via Gimme Some Oven)
12. Cheesy Prosciutto Pizza With Honey Balsamic Reduction: Not your typical caprese pizza — honey, cheese and balsamic come together to make possibly the funkiest, most delicious pizza ever. (via Cooking Classy)
13. Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops: Perfect your favorite balsamic reduction recipe and use it as a glaze on some hearty lamb chops. (via The Kitchen McCabe)
14. Grilled Balsamic Garlic Steak: If you’re cookin’ for your boo on date night, steak is the way to go. Fancy it up with some balsamic. (via Mommyhood’s Diary)
15. Balsamic BBQ Short Ribs: Sitting pretty in the South? Then you know BBQ is all about the vinegar. Change it up with balsamic for a sweetly, semi-Southern flavor. (via CW Photography)
16. Strawberry Balsamic Rosemary Ice Cream: This is a fancy-pants-sounding dessert that anyone can make. Bookmark this recipe for when your boyfriend’s parents come over for dinner. (via Brit + Co)
17. Roasted Balsamic Tomato and Mushroom Tartine: Parisian cuisine is coming straight to your kitchen. (via The Cafe)
18. Balsamic Cherry Pie With Whole Wheat Black Pepper Crust: If you have a harvest festival or fair to attend, enter this beauty in the pie competition. It’s a winner. (via With the Grains)
19. Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Balsamic Reduction: Good news, everyone: You can stay on your paleo or Whole30 plan with this recipe. (via Naked Cuisine)
20. Strawberry Balsamic Cocktail: A great custom cocktail for your next girl’s night in — fruit purees and syrupy sauces are a perfect marriage for adult beverages. Who knew? (via Food Fashion And Fun)
21. Ricotta and Goat Cheese Crostini, Candied Cherry Tomatoes + Balsamic Glaze: Ricotta pairs perfectly with balsamic. Add in a glass of rosé and you’re good to go. (via Fork + Spoon)
22. Greek Style Sweet Potatoes With Balsamic Glaze: Finally, a sweet potato recipe that doesn’t involve brown sugar or marshmallows. This is something new, but still fulfills all your fall comfort food needs. (via Colorful Eats)
What’s your favorite way to use balsamic vinegar? See anything new in this roundup that you’d like to try? Tell us in the comments below!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures