Mornin’ Sunshine! (Eggs in a Basket with Turkey and Asparagus)

Note: As of 9 May 2018, the images in this post are nowhere to be seen. I’m currently debating whether to dig around in an external hard drive to find them or to surrender them to the universe. My photography was so bad at the time that the greater forces of my blog may be trying to do me a favor.

Every once and awhile, isn’t it nice to have something special for the most important meal of the day? I don’t know about you, but my everyday breakfasts tend to be pretty simple, consisting of waffles or an English muffin with a glass of orange juice. Not very interesting, but what can I say? I am not a morning person.

Not one bit.

That being said, there’s something really lovely about a well-rounded breakfast, the vision of which can inspire even the most nocturnal, bleary-eyed amongst us to drag ourselves out of bed at the crack of ten and try our hand at something beyond the Pop Tarts. Eggs in a Basket is one of those visions.

A seemingly simple dish, this recipe amps up your regular Eggs in a Basket with the addition of a deli turkey and asparagus sauté, which is equal parts healthy and delicious. Put it all together, and you’ve got an insanely yummy meal with all the energy you need to fuel your day.

Ready to get cookin’?

First things first, here’s a visual representation of what you’ll need.

You’re welcome, visual learners.

Now that we’ve got that covered, place the asparagus, stems removed, into a steaming device (I realize that some of you most likely do not own one of these handy microwave steamer gadgets and have enclosed alternate instructions in the recipe).

A quick note: The easiest way to remove asparagus stems is to simply hold both ends of a piece of asparagus and gently snap it in half. It will naturally split where it’s supposed to.

Steamer thingies make life so much easier.

While the asparagus is steaming, melt some margarine (or butter if you like) and brush both sides of several slices of whole wheat sandwich bread.

Is it sad that I find this fun?

Now, using a cookie cutter, cut a hole in the middle of each slice, reserving the cutout.

Done.

Once the asparagus has slightly cooled, cut it up into 1-inch pieces.

Ignore my fish cutting board. It’s never seen a fish in its life.

Grab a few slices of your favorite style of deli turkey and slice it into thin ribbons, which I, of course, forgot to do and just chopped it up.

Again, do as I say, not as I do.

Melt about a tablespoon of margarine in a skillet. I prefer margarine in egg-related situations just because it has vegetable oil in it, which I think helps things not to stick. Honestly, I’m not sure if it actually helps that much, but it makes me feel innovative to think so.

Such a culinary breakthrough.

Once the skillet is hot, toss in the asparagus and turkey and cook until slightly browned, seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

This photo is so…so…gardeny? That was seriously the first adjective that popped into my head.

Transfer the asparagus-turkey mixture to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. In the same skillet, place two slices of bread and their respective cutouts and plop an egg into each one.

It kinda looks like a smiley face. See? The eggs are the eyes and that line of asparagus-turkey that I burnt into the pan is the faint smile. Isn’t cooking fun?

After flipping the slices and cooking for a little while longer, season with salt and pepper and repeat the same process with the other two slices. Place each slice on a plate, topping with some of the asparagus-turkey mixture with its cutout on the side.

This is gonna be good.

And there you have it! Eggs in a Basket!

Don’t be surprised if your plate looks like mine did after about 30 seconds…

You have been warned.

Eggs in a Basket with Turkey and Asparagus

Adapted from “So Easy” by Ellie Krieger

Printable Recipe

1 bunch Asparagus, tough bottoms removed

4 pieces Whole Wheat Bread

3 tablespoons Margarine or Butter

4 slices Deli-style Turkey, cut into thin ribbons or simply chopped

4 large Eggs

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Optional: Top with hot sauce for an extra kick

If you have a microwave steamer, fill the bottom with water until it almost meets the basket. Fill the basket with asparagus and microwave for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a microwave steamer, simply steam the asparagus using one of those contraptions that sit over a pot of boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes. When done, chop the asparagus into bite-size pieces.

Brush both sides of each slice of bread with melted margarine or butter. Cut a hole in the center of each slice of bread using a large, circular cookie cutter and save the cutout bread as well.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of margarine or butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the turkey slices until slightly browned. Add the asparagus and cook until it has heated and absorbed some of that turkey savoriness, then season with salt and pepper. Place all of that on a a plate and cover with foil.

Place two slices of wheat bread and cutouts in the skillet. Crack each egg, one at a time, into a separate dish, and gently drop 1 egg into each cutout in the slices of bread. Cook until the egg white is done and the bread is toasted, about 3-5 minutes. Flip the bread/egg slices and cutouts with the utensil of your choice and cook an another minute or two, depending on how runny you like the yolk. Transfer the bread/egg pieces to a plate and cover with foil while repeating the above process with the remaining bread slices and cutouts. Serve each egg in a basket and corresponding cutout on individual plates and top each one with ¼ of the turkey-asparagus mixture. If you like, drizzle a bit of hot sauce on top for extra spicy flavor.