Since episode 716 of Outlander included the return of our most intriguing Frenchman, I knew I needed a French twist to my breakfast as I mulled over the surprising cliffhanger. Caramelizing the onions gave me time to think things over. If you needed a leisurely morning to contemplate things, this is the breakfast for you. I am not a fancy food photographer, but it sure tasted good.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (2 TBSP of olive oil or bacon grease works too!)
• 4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Greasing material (can use butter, olive oil, or avocado oil spray)
• 8 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk (half-n-half works too)
• 1/4 tsp onion powser
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (can sub with Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, 1/3 cup almond flour, or 1 TBSP of Coconut Flour, can skip and add extra cheese)
• 1 cups Swiss or Gruyere cheese (white sharp Tillamook Cheddar works if in a pinch too)
• 2 TBSP Green onion finely chopped, green parts only (chives can work in a pinch too)
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked
• 3 cloves of minced garlic (optional)
• fresh thyme
• extra cheese for sprinkling

Directions

1. Turn oven to 400°. Put parchment paper on an 11×17 pan or a 9×13 pan. Place 4 slices of bacon on top of the parchment paper. Put in the oven and cook to desired level of crispyness. Place bacon on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb some of the grease. You can lift the parchment paper to carefully transfer hot bacon grease to the saute pan. (I don’t like cooking bacon in the saute pan as hot grease seems to fly everywhere.) If you don’t want to use the bacon grease for the onions, you can use to grease the pie pan or transfer to a jar and save your bacon grease for later. Or you can let the grease cool and solidify and dispose in the garbage (so grease doesn’t go down the drain). Tear bacon into small pieces once it is cool.
2. Once bacon is done cooking, turn the oven down to 350°.
3. Slice onion. Heat butter or grease of choice in a saute pan. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to it and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir often until onions start to caramelize. Add in optional fresh minced garlic cloves towards the end of the 10 minutes. Tear off fresh thyme leaves and add to the onions (and garlic). 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme works too but fresh adds so much more flavor.
4. In a large bowl, whisk milk and eggs. Add in onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and flour. Stir until smooth. (My husband and I are doing keto so I added extra shredded cheese instead.) Fold in cheese and most of the bacon.
5. Pour egg mixture into a greased 10 inch pie pan. Gently place the caramelized onion mixture in the egg mixture and gently swirled. Carefully sprinkle leftover bacon, green onions, and extra cheese on top.
6. Cook in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.