Page 8 August 17, 2017
Mini Quiches with Chives, Shallots and Turkey Bacon
Ingredients
Preparation
Do Los Angeles Chargers Have What it Takes to Win?
beat in the NFL and the team to root for in the
city. Barring more unforeseen injuries biting
the team like last year, the Chargers have the
talent on their roster to not only compete for
an AFC West championship, but to also make
a strong playoff run. What might be even
more important this year, though, is that with
success also comes ownership of one of the
biggest football markets in the entire world.
– Asixlion@earthlink.net •
By Adam Serrao
The NFL season is right around the corner…
and more than anything, football fans in L.A.
will have to get used to saying the Los Angeles
Chargers now instead of still referring to the
team with the old prefix of San Diego attached
to the moniker. Like with all things, getting
used to that change will simply take time. Time,
however, is something that the Chargers don’t
have much of if the team is looking to adapt
to its new home in L.A. sooner, rather than
later, and steal a ton of fans in the process.
There is no doubting the fact that the Chargers
have talent on their team and throughout their
roster. Can this year’s Chargers team put that
talent together to win the AFC West and make
it into this year’s playoffs, though?
The Chargers will open up the 2017 regular
season and play their first game as a Los
Angeles football team this September 11 when
they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos at
Sports Authority Field. For the Chargers, this
season isn’t so much about the opponents on
the schedule, but more about depth on their
roster. As anyone who has ever played fantasy
football knows, injuries are as much a part of
football as chocolate chips are a part of your
grandma’s cookies. Charger fans were eating
a lot of chocolate chip cookies baked by their
grandmas last season. It’s not if, but when
injuries will occur in the NFL. The Chargers
have been seemingly snake-bitten in recent
years when it has come to that topic, so this
year will be about avoiding injuries that have
the potential to overturn an otherwise very
deep roster.
“I know we can compete,” Chargers General
Manager Tom Telesco said of his 2017 team.
“We have some really good core players here.
I like what I’ve seen from the coaching staff
so far. Obviously we haven’t stepped on the
field yet, so we’re going to find out real soon
where we are. You don’t really know.” One
thing that Charger fans do know before their
team has taken the field is that they have
already lost their second round pick of this
year’s draft , Forrest Lamp, to a torn ACL and
their first round pick, Mike Williams, remains
sidelined for what could be an extended period
of time with a lower back disc hernia. Not a
good way to start things off for a team that
just last year lost its best wide receiver, one
of its best cornerbacks, two running backs
and a slew of other players to injury in what
turned out to be a very disappointing season.
Despite the team’s early rookie injuries,
the Chargers will be looking to turn things
around this year beginning with a move away
from an old and rundown football stadium at
Qualcomm in San Diego into a fairly newer,
yet very small soccer stadium in Los Angeles.
The 27,000-seat StubHub Center should
provide the perfect atmosphere for Charger
fans to get an up close and personal look at
their new team during home games throughout
the year’s schedule. Though a team’s schedule
isn’t everything, the Chargers will face the
third toughest schedule in the NFL in 2017,
based on opponents’ records from last year.
Eight of the teams that the Chargers will face
in 2017 had a record of .500 or better in 2016.
L.A. will face opponents that combined last
season for a .568 winning percentage, which
at first sounds daunting, but fret not--there
are a few saving graces. Three of the team’s
first four games of the year will be at their
temporary new home, the StubHub Center.
Also, the only other two teams in the league
that will face a tougher overall schedule than
the Chargers also reside in the AFC West.
The Broncos have the hardest schedule in
the NFL, while Kansas City comes in with
the second toughest. The Chargers’ only
other opponent from within their division,
the Oakland Raiders, ranks fourth in strength
of schedule, just behind Los Angeles. If the
Chargers have to face a horrifying schedule,
at least all of their rivals will too.
Every NFL season stands alone, so strength
of schedule may not mean much once the
2017 football year comes to an end. No matter
who their opponents happen to be though, the
Chargers are hungry to finally prove to their
fans that they have the talent on their roster to
get out of the gutter of the AFC West--a place
where they have been relinquished to in recent
years. “I think our guys are hungry,” Telesco
continued. “They should be. The guys that
have been here three, four or five years--they
won five games last year, four games the year
before. You want to show people you’re better
than that. I think they have that attitude.” That
means it’s up to players like quarterback Phillip
Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon, receiver
Keenan Allen, and a revamped offensive line
to make a change in this year’s Chargers team,
once and for all.
With less than a month until kickoff, the
Chargers are getting ready to prove to fans
across Los Angeles that they are the team to
• 8 Eggland’s Best Eggs (large)
• 12 oz. turkey bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
• Small handful of parsley,
roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
• Pinch of smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cups fresh Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with cooking
spray and place it on a cooking sheet. Doing this will make it easier to transport
in and out of the oven.
2. In a large skillet, add in the turkey bacon and cook on medium-high heat. After a few
minutes, add the onion, shallot and garlic and cook down for a few more minutes.
Lastly, add the chives, parsley and Italian seasoning and cook mixture until the turkey
bacon is cooked through. Remove mixture from heat and set aside until needed.
3. In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, add in the eggs and take a fork to whisk until
evenly beaten. Add the paprika and salt and whisk to combine.
4. Place a thin layer of Parmesan cheese into each individual muffin tin. Take one
teaspoon of the bacon mixture and add it to each tin. Carefully pour enough of the
egg mixture into each muffin tin, just until it covers the filling mixture. Sprinkle
with some more Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake quiches for 16-18 minutes or until the eggs have fully set. Allow to cool slightly
before taking a butter knife to release them from the pan. Serve immediately or let
quiches cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge.
To reheat, place them on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven for 5-7 minutes, or until heated through.
– Source: Eggland’s Best •
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