Onion Ring Brekkie

Who says you can't eat onion rings for breakfast??? This meal (which could be one of the best breakfasts I've ever made) was inspired by a photo my spouse found online a couple weeks ago: an egg cooked inside a thick slice of red bell pepper. This morning, shortly after I accidentally volunteered to make brunch without a single preconceived idea, this popped to mind. I'm sure making this with a bell pepper would have been tasty. But I'm a huge fan of sweet, carmelized onion and I'm positive that ingredient alone catapulted this into the "fantastic" category!

Ingredients:

• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced into rings about 3/4-inch thick
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped (use the small, leftover inner rings from above)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup asparagus, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
• 1 avocado (optional)
• lime juice (optional)
• hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet.
2. Break the onion rings apart so you have 4 good rings. I found that keeping the rings 2 layers deep made the walls more stable once the onion cooked. Fry onions until they begin to carmelize on the edges. Flip over as needed.
3. From here out, do not lift or flip the onion rings. Divide the chopped onion, pepper, and asparagus into fourths and place in each ring. Reduce heat to medium and fry a few minutes, until the veggies soften.
4. Carefully crack and pour one egg into each ring. Cook over medium heat until eggs set and reach desired doneness.
5. If using cheese, sprinkle over eggs and allow it to melt.
6. If using avocado, scoop into a bowl and mash with a few squirts of lime juice.
7. Remove eggy onion rings from skillet and serve with avocado. Top with a dash of paleo-friendly hot sauce. I served these with a slice of bacon.