I know, I know... I've been doing a lot with pesto lately. My basil plant is slowly but surely taking over the back yard again this year. What better to do with it than to make some yummy Skinny Spinach & Basil Pesto?

I've done the whole Lighter Egg-in-a-Basket thing, but I've been trying to be a little more gluten conscious lately. So, I thought to myself... why not take the same idea, but use a vegetable instead of the bread? Perfect! Bell peppers work great for this. They are firm and hold up well with the cooking process, since they don't sweat or soften too awfully much in such a short amount of time.

Oh. My. Goodness. Please, don't make fun of my bacon! I like it pretty much burned. I think that I get that from my mom!

To add flavor, I wanted that smear of pesto under the pepper rings and then the sharpness of the feta on top to contrast the richness of the creamy yolk inside.

With these peppers, I like my eggs with the whites fully cooked (and even a little crisp on the outside) and the yolk just starting to firm up in the center; allowing for just a bit of that creamy yolk to spill out when it's cut into. But, you could definitely cook these all the way through, or even whisk the eggs before pouring into the pepper rings if you don't like any yolk-age in there at all.

This is a really easy breakfast to toss together, especially if you already have the pesto on hand.

And trust me, I almost always have pesto prepped and ready in my fridge!

All in all, these pepper rings are a great way to break-the-fast i the morning; low carb and high in protein.

Eggs in Pepper Rings
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 1 • Size: 2 Pepper Rings • Calories: 242 • Fat: 16.1 g • Carb: 5.5 g • Fiber: 1.4 g • Protein: 17.2 g • Sugar: 3 g • Sodium: 306 mg

Ingredients:
1/2 Small Red Bell Pepper
2 Whole Large Eggs
1 Tbsp. Skinny Spinach & Basil Pesto
1 Tbsp. Reduced Fat Feta Crumbles
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:
Slice the pepper into rings that are about 3/4 - 1" thick.

Heat a medium pan over a medium high heat.

Once the pan is warmed, lightly coat it with some non-stick cooking spray and place the peppers into it.

Carefully crack each egg and fill the pepper rings with it.

I used one hand to do the cracking and the other to lightly hold the edges of the pepper ring down to keep from allowing the egg whites to run from under the pepper.

Sprinkle with some salt and pepper to taste.

Cover with a lid and allow to cook for a minute or two until the white of the egg has started to set.

Using a spatula, carefully flip each pepper ring over and cover with the lid.

Continue to cook until the eggs are to your liking.

Remove the pan from the heat and plate your eggs over a smear of pesto and top with the crumbled feta.

Serve right away and enjoy!