
Fall means changing leaves, sweaters, apple cider and mouthwatering pumpkin treats. More importantly, it means football season and most importantly it means (drumroll please) insanely decadent tailgating snacks. While there’s nothing like a giant plate of nachos or juicy chicken wings, there’s just something about a gooey, spicy bowl of queso that gets us every time. It’s the comfort food we dream about long after football season is over. Read on for our creamiest, cheesiest, meltiest queso picks.
1. Classic Slow-Cooker Queso: It doesn’t get more traditional than this. Inspired by Chili’s famous dip, this queso contains Velveeta cheese and canned chili. It’s as tasty as the real deal, and now you can enjoy it on the sofa while cheering on your team. (via Creme de la Crumb)
2. Queso Fundido: If Velveeta isn’t your thing, we’ve still got you covered. This recipe combines three (THREE!) kinds of cheese for ooey, gooey greatness. Score! (via What’s Gaby Cooking)
3. Queso Fundido With Sausage: Meet Queso 2.0. Step up your dipping game by tossing in breakfast sausage or ground meat. We promise nobody will complain. (via Pioneer Woman)
4. Hot Sauce Queso: For those who like a little spice in their life, check out this recipe for an extra hot dip. Simply add in your favorite hot sauce and be sure to have plenty of cold beer on hand to wash it down. (via Brit + Co)
5. Skillet Black Bean Queso: Whether you’re a vegetarian or just looking to pack an extra punch into your queso, this black bean version is here for you. Spoiler alert: This recipe uses cream cheese to make everything extra creamy. We’ve died and gone to queso heaven. (via Peas & Crayons)
6. Chili Queso Dip: Is it chili or queso? Snack or dinner? Whatever it is, you can be sure this combo is totally addictive. It’s definitely a Super Bowl contender. (via Pinch of Yum)
7. Green Chili Sweet Corn Queso: Zippy and fresh, this is the lighter side of queso. If fresh corn isn’t available, you can substitute in thawed frozen corn instead. (via Whole & Heavenly Oven)
8. Vegan Queso: We never thought a vegan “cheese” dip could be so velvety and creamy until we met this one. Eggplant is the star player in this super healthy alternative, and we can’t get enough. This one is also delicious with freshly baked pita chips. (via Minimalist Baker)
9. Creamy Queso With Chorizo: This dip gives you the best of both worlds: super creamy cheese dip matched with spicy savory chorizo sausage. Stock up on ingredients, because your guests will be begging for a second batch by halftime. (via Bon Appétit)
10. Pumpkin Queso Fundido: For the ultimate seasonal treat, take this pumpkin version for a spin. Plus, you have an excuse to add the extra festive touch of serving it in a pumpkin bowl. (via Food Network)
11. Roasted Broccoli and White Cheddar Queso Fundido: If you ever found yourself wishing that broccoli-cheddar bake had just a little more of the cheddar part, then this queso is for you. A generous dose of garlic and shallots gives this dip an extra flavor boost. (via Spoon Fork Bacon)
12. Butternut Squash Goat Cheese Queso: Roast butternut squash until it’s all caramelized, tender and sweet and blend it with tangy goat cheese. Since it’s mostly veggies, you can basically call this dip a salad. Yes, that means it’s totally fine to eat it for dinner. (via How Sweet It Is)
13. Leftover Turkey Queso: Football is the ultimate Thanksgiving tradition. Now this queso can be too with this recipe. In fact, it’s so good that you may find yourself making turkeys all year long. (via Brit + Co)
14. DIY Queso Bar: Can’t decide which one of these delish recipes to prepare for the big game? Let your guests decide! Check out our ideas for a self-serve queso bar. (via Brit + Co)
What are your go-to Sunday football indulgences? We want to hear about them! 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