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Chicken With Orange-Sherry Marinade

Makes 4 servings

The fruity flavor in this recipe is a welcome treat during the hot summer months. Accompany the warm chicken with Kiwi-Lime Salsa or serve the chicken chilled on a bed of salad spinach.

For the marinade

2 teaspoons grated orange rind
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry sherry (see tip)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
¼ teaspoon pepper

For the chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 ounces each)
Vegetable oil cooking spray

Stir together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour half of the marinade into the bottom of a shallow glass baking dish. Place the chicken breasts atop; cover with the remaining marinade.

 

Refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes or for as long as 24 hours, turning the chicken occasionally.

When ready to cook, set the oven broiler rack 4 to 5 inches from the heating element; preheat the broiler.

 

Lightly oil a broiler pan or baking sheet. Place the chicken on the prepared pan, reserving the excess marinade. (Or cook the chicken on an outdoor grill.)

 

Cook the chicken for 5 minutes; turn and brush with the marinade. Broil the second sides for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through at the thickest points; discard the remaining marinade.

 

Advance Preparation

The chicken can be cooked in advance, refrigerated, and served within a day, chilled or at room temperature.

Responsible Dog Ownership

This may seem like common sense to some of us, but there are still dog owners out there who do not "get" it. Please help give dog owners a good name by following these rules:

1. Keep your dog on a leash or in a fenced-in yard when outdoors. Even if you live where it is legal to allow your dog off-leash, you should supervise him at all times. Do not let him wander the neighborhood or get out of your sight.
2. Do not leave a barking dog outdoors. Continuous barking is not only unfair to your dog, it is rude and annoying to neighbors.
3. Pick up after your dog. No one wants to step in or smell that "gift" your dog left behind. Please pick it up right away and dispose of it properly. For convenience, try a bag dispenser, like the N2N Poop Patrol Bags.

5 Financial Mistakes New Freelancers Make

Ignoring Your Savings
One of the worst things you can do as you prepare to embark on your career as a freelancer is to ignore your savings. Most financial experts recommend always having a buffer of at least 6 months in savings in case of financial emergency. Having that kind of a financial safety-net before starting your freelance career might be niche but isn’t always possible. The truth, however, is that you should have some money in savings to help you cover your rent, utilities, and grocery bill while you search for new clients. Make sure you have a month or two in reserve and don’t forget to continue adding to your savings as you begin earning more.

Living Beyond Your Means
Let’s say you’re working a 9-5 job in corporate America. You’re probably used to buying a cup of hot coffee on your way to work in the morning and you might buy your lunch every day. When you first start freelancing you’ll need to be more careful about your expenses – every penny will count. That $5 cup of gourmet coffee, while nice, may add up to the amount of money you need to pay your electric bill. Your lifestyle will change as you grow your business, but it is important to recognize that you may not be as well off in the beginning as you hope to be.

Not Adjust Your Expenses
We often take our day-to-day expenses (or lack thereof) for granted. Your office job probably gave you access to long-distance telephone calls, fax machines, and copy machines – whether you should have been utilizing them for personal reasons or not. Now you’ll have to pay for these and other expenses on your own and they can quickly add up. Adjust your cell or home phone calling plan to include long distance, invest in an online faxing service, and look for some all-in-one office equipment (printer/copier). The more you can do in-house, the more you’ll save and have available to grow your business.

Not Tracking Your Expenses
As a freelancer, almost every single penny you spend will count as a tax deduction. Keep track of expenses – from office supplies to medical appointments – and organize your receipts accordingly. Your accountant will be able to help you determine what you can legally write-off when tax time rolls around – and you may just be surprised at how much you’re able to save.

Redefine Trust
For me, the hardest part about launching my freelance career was redefining my definition of trust. I was suddenly on my own and wanted to trust everyone who recommended a product or service that would make my business better. I subscribed to blog feeds, read countless newsletters, and subjected myself to “shiny new object syndrome.” I bought product after product, trusting their promoters and believing each would help me to grow. I would buy one thing and then purchase the next before I had finished with the first. This type of spending will eat into your profits and, if you aren’t careful, cause you to quickly build up a significant amount of debt.

As a freelancer you’ll want to gain control of your financial situation from the very beginning. Take your time and build your business slowly. Don’t waste your money on things you don’t need and make future investments wisely. Treading carefully, especially in today’s economy, will ensure you’re always able to put food on the table!

5 Reasons to Hire Virtual Assistants

1. Save money.

You’re in business to make money. Why spend money on in-house personnel that can instead be used towards the development of your business? With a Virtual Assistant, you don’t have to concern yourself with the paying of employee-related taxes, insurance, payroll expenses, paid vacations, bonuses as well other expenses associated with having an employee. Additionally, since a Virtual Assistant works from their own office, there is no need to purchase office equipment, furniture, stationery or computers. You are only responsible for paying for the time your Virtual Assistant has spent working on your behalf.

2. Freedom to focus on building your business.

As a business owner you wear many hats. Having a Virtual Assistant affords you the opportunity to relinquish some of these hats and focus your energies on revenue generating projects and ventures. By delegating to your Virtual Assistant, you can take comfort in the knowledge that comes from knowing that you have reliable and professional support, working behind the scenes, taking care of the projects that are mundane, tedious, boring, time consuming, or do not make up the core of your business, but still need to get done.

3. Service is customized with you in mind.

Whether you’re just looking for a Virtual Assistant to handle your calls or to act as your virtual office manager, Virtual Assistants are versatile and well able to perform a range of duties. They are also flexible and many are prepared to tailor their billing structure and services to fit the unique needs of their clients. With Virtual Assistants, there is never a one size fits all mentality.

4. Professional partner and sounding board.

Virtual Assistant are entrepreneurs too. They network, market their services, communicate with clients and provide services just as their clients. They make good partners and ‘sounding boards’ because they understand the intricacies of growing and running a business. Tapping in to their knowledge base and resources can benefit your business.

5. Highly trained and skilled personnel.

Virtual Assistants are professionals that have training and work experience in a variety of fields. As business owners they tend to provide services that are reflective of their accumulated skills and knowledge. Whatever your need, you’re sure to find a Virtual Assistant with the skills and experience to meet your needs.