Braided Garlic Spaghetti Bread...AKA.. Divine

Okay, so I've had a few people ask me for this recipe, and no wonder, because it's divine! I actually found it off Pinterest (go figure!) and I've made it at least 3 times. It's so good.. and fairly easy, if you plan and prepare it just right. Make sure you follow the instructions carefully..otherwise you'll get a big spaghetti mess. Still tastes good.. just isn't as pretty. :)

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Source: Stephanie from Rhodes Bake N Serve Blog
(side note - the source does have a lot of pictures to follow, if that makes it easier. And mine has never turned out quite as pretty as hers does, but oh well! Don't dismay if it doesn't turn out exactly like that. The outcome is always the same - delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough OR 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature. It takes about 2-3 hours to thaw (Make sure you only THAW it, not let it rise... made that mistake the first time - it doesn't stretch as well.)
6 oz spaghetti, cooked 
1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (I just make regular spaghetti - with hamburger meat. Prepare it however you like)
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes 
1 egg white 
Parmesan cheese
Parsley flakes
Garlic salt (makes it taste like spaghetti stuffed in garlic bread. How can you go wrong?)


1. Spray counter top with non-stick cooking spray or use parchment/wax paper. Take thawed loaf/rolls and using a rolling pin roll it into a 12X16inch rectangle on the greased area/parchment site. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

2. While it is resting, cook your spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly.

3. Make your spaghetti, or just use the 1 cup of sauce - however you'd like it. (I've found that I when I make regular spaghetti I always end up making a lot more than can actually fit inside the bread, so I always have leftovers. It also makes it easier if you combine the noodles with the sauce/meat before you add it to the dough. When not combined, my sauce was really runny yesterday and ended up making my dough a tad soggy making it harder to transfer to the baking dish. Oops!)


4. Remove the wrap from the dough and place your spaghetti sauce/noodles combination about 4 inches lengthwise down the center of the dough. Top it with the mozzarella cheese cubs. 


5. I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough slices. Make the cuts 1 1/2 inches apart and within 1/2 inch to the filling.


6. Begin braiding by folding the top and bottom strips toward the filling. Then, braid left over right, right over left and tuck the last strip under the dough braid. (Or, just cover it as best as you can! Notice how my braided picture doesn't look much like the source's picture.)

7. Transfer to a greased baking dish or cookie sheet. 

And be careful so it doesn't end up like this! Haha click the link!

source

8. Brush braided dough with the egg white. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, and some garlic salt. 

9. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 

10. Serve and enjoy! 

Happy Braiding!!

PS: So.. I just had an ah-ha moment! (Don't judge.) As I was sitting here comparing my recipe to the original's, I believe I have found out why mine doesn't turn out like how it's supposed to. I place my spaghetti on the dough up and down (height-wise) instead of left to right (lengthwise) and so my strips end up usually longer and skinnier and harder to braid and the more spaghetti you add, the less it covers. Now, I believe if placed the other way (as intended to by the directions AND PICTURES! forcryingoutloud - if only I could read directions..sigh..) it should turn out normal. Gonna have to try it the right way the 4th time around and maybe, I'll have it perfected. 

Photo Dump

So here are some recent/not so recent pictures from our iphone that have most likely not been seen by anyone. Enjoy!

She loves her baby bear. And I think she looks so perfectly angelic here. Who doesn't love babies?!

I caught her gaaaaammminnng on the Sabbath! ;)

Serious case of bedhead haha. Jonathan found her like this and took it. I love how sprawled out she is.

What her crazy hair looks like after I rub it dry with a towel after bath.

Daddy givin'  Baby some lovin's.

please....save...meee..Dad... (I'm trimming her nails CLAWS!) and I look so concentrated.

Happy girl eating skettttiii

We went to feed the ducks!

Haha it's a serious threat okay.. I wanted him to come home and he was late for dinner haha.

Passed out after spending an afternoon at the park :)

This was around Valentine's day, and the quality is ghetto, but I love our smiles. :)

Our picture for the ward directory for church..which I edited a lil. Taken in January, I think.

Fishing For Memories

Uh oh.

It's that time of year again when I start to get insanely jealous of my friends and family back up in Alaska. I don't mind living there the whole year around, but there's something about those Alaskan summers that make it extra special up in the 907. Beautiful sunsets, nonstop daylight, perfect summer weather...Sigh...

I took this picture a few summers ago (I think 09) but it hardly does it justice!

What made my summers up there the most memorable were our annual family dipnetting trip to the Chitina Copper River. Believe it or not, dipnetting is one of my all time favorite things to do in Alaska. I love the 6-7 hour drive there and back, out to the middle of nowhere, with my silly siblings and awesome dad. I love being dirty for 3 days straight. I love the adrenaline rush of feeling a huge salmon captured in my net as we try to pull it into our boat. And yes, I love watching and helping my dad cut and gut the salmon to put them in the coolers for the journey back. One summer, about a week after I had bilateral knee surgery (surgery on both knees at the same time), I went to Chitina with my brother, dad and his buddies. I couldn't participate catching them, but I asked to help gut at least one fish...in crutches. My dad's friend paused and stared..and then said "sure." I'm pretty sure he thought I was a crazy lady, coming all this way in crutches and then asking to gut slimey salmon, haha!

For those who don't know what dipnetting is, here is a picture that can accurately explain what it is. Muddy water, pole with a net at the end, huge fish. Get the picture? ;)

My family just got back from their dipnetting trip a few days ago. It's now been two years straight that I've missed out on the trip (last year because I was pregnant and then Lydia was born.. I guess that's a legit excuse haha) But it seems like whenever they go without me they have the best time! First, on the way down (near Glen Allen) they saw a mama Grizzly and her cub, which got up on its hind legs and was about to charge their truck when my dad honked the horn and it ran away. Holy cow. Then, they came home with over 100 fish! And, unfortunately for me, my dad's friend beat my record for catching the biggest king. I proudly held that record for a few years. I'm quite convinced that if I had been able to go I would have been the one who got it! (Just kidding.. I'm not that arrogant and I like my dad's friend a lot. He's a good fisherman.) I guess I'll give him credit heheh. 

Basically, what happens is this: You're in a boat, on a super muddy raging river (you literally can't see anything in it), for hours waiting for that salmon to go into your net. Sometimes it feels like it takes all day..and sometimes it does. But the rush you feel when you catch one is so worth it. However, I was never strong enough to pull it into the boat. I could only pull it upwards and hope that my net was facing the right way so that it didn't get away. My strong Daddy always helped me. 

Here is a picture of the biggest king (in my day) that I caught which held the record for a long time. I was so proud of that fish. I had been waiting and waiting (tied up to a tree along the mountain side) thinking I'd never get one, when finally I felt a huge tug. I pulled him up and had to get my dad to help me and even HE had a hard time getting it into the boat. And when it was in the boat it was thrashing around. It's actually really dangerous if you're not careful. I remember taking a video of myself after I caught it and was so giddy and stupid on it, that when I got home I had to hide it somewhere in folderland (hidden deep within multiple folders on the computer) where my mom would never find it to show off to her friends while I wasn't around, which she had done. I could never find it after that either, I hid it so well.. 

..it was that embarrassing..

He was thrashing around so much. Did NOT want to get out of the water. He was so heavy.

So proud of my catch!

It was a brutal fight with the fish. Dad won. We were both proud.

What I really loved about this trip was that it actually was a testimony builder. Say what? Yep. It was a lonely few hours waiting for this fish, and I remembered praying to God and asking him if He would bless me with a fish..and if it's the only fish I caught, could He please make it a big one!.... And sure enough! Prayers were answered. And it happened to be the only one I caught the whole trip. Yes, God does hear you and He does delight in your happiness.

Here are some more pictures from other trips.

Seeee... I drew a pretty good representation of how it's like. I got the mountain side, dirty river, and trees. :)

I actually didn't catch any on this trip. I almost did but my net had holes in it and they got away! :(
This was my dad's though. It was still pretty big, I could hardly hold it.

Haha it's goofy but it's the only pic I could find of me/us from this trip. All his iphone pics got deleted.
This was the summer before our wedding.

Mmm mm, tasty ;)

 

My family, minus my mom who doesn't go camping with us. This was June 2008 I believe.

I'm proud to be an Alaskan Girl!

Tito and Tita!

Remember those darling pictures of Lydia in two tutus (I should hope so, because it was only yesterday)? Well, I'm here to talk about the creative lady who made them for her, my mother-in-law, Olga Hernandez. Actually, I'm gonna talk about her and her awesome husband, Alejandro, as well! What a treat. You won't be disappointed.

Sometimes, for the heck of it, and when I have time, I like to start at the very beginning of my blogging experience - way the heck back in July 2010 and read all the posts up until the present time. I started this blog about a week before I was getting married, and I'm so glad I did so I could document all the experiences and emotions of that new adventure. I don't think at the time much of it made it into my personal journal, so that is why I'm glad I wrote it all here. And it was when I was reading those early posts that I noticed I mentioned my in-laws lots of times, thanking them for all they did for us - for me - someone they hadn't even met a week prior to our wedding. So here are some reasons why they are so awesome!! Feel free to be impressed.

First, they raised an amazing man that later became my husband. He inherited his mother's beautiful cheekbones and sense of humor, and his father's love and compassion for people around him.

They also had 3 amazing sons go on missions!

They planned our whole wedding reception - took care of all the decorations - hand made by her - might I add, the cakes, the DJ and even took care of my hair and make-up for my wedding day. They treated us out to eat and drove us everywhere we needed to go while me and my parents/sister were there in Texas. They put a lot of hard work and effort into our reception, and even a simple, "Thank you" could probably never suffice for what they have done.

My dad jokingly asked for a mariachi band at our reception, and Jonathan's dad delivered. He did a solo with a sombrero and outfit and the whole shabang. I wish I had a picture to show you how awesome it was. I didn't know his dad could sing, but he can, and well.

That's it, minus the dancers. This pic was taken for a diff event. But it's still pretty cool!

His mom hooked us up with an amazing apartment/furniture while we were newly married in Texas, and let me help her in the leasing office to cut back on rent, which we were really grateful for. She also let us use her car when we needed to go places until we got our own and made yummy Mexican food every Sunday after church, even when all we really wanted to do was relax.

His dad is amazing when it comes to giving advice. When we were unsure what to do after being newly married, he told us with confidence that no matter what our plans were it could be "whatever you wanted." Basically - you can make it happen. He was, after all, a Branch President and knows how to talk to people about anything and can cheer you up when you're having an off day. I don't think I've EVER met a more humble man than my father in law. He cares so much for his family and loves each one of his kids and his wife tenderly.

They are both tirelessly hard workers. He was an apartment maintenance man and she was an apartment complex manager in TX. He knows how to fix everything (like my dad - they have a lot in common!) seriously! Even when I was having an ear-ache due to the AC blowing on me at night (when I thought I was having a tooth problem - my jaw just hurt), which I didn't know that was what it was, he gave me advice on how to cure it, and it worked! His mom enjoyed working and bringing home the extra paycheck so they could enjoy the extra luxuries and she always had a knack for making her home beautiful, as well as herself. She is one beautiful lady!!

And they are one cute couple

Whenever I am around my second mom I am always delighted in what she will whip up for dinner. And I love the holidays because that is when the special treats come out. This last Christmas/New Year she taught me/I helped make pozole and tamales. It was a fun time. No doubt do people of a Mexican culture know how to work hard at what they want. They work a lot, but they also love their family a lot. And cooking (and cleaning) for your big family is a big act of service. It takes a lot of time.

 In short, I just wanna say that my in-laws are so amazing! They love their kids so much they left their home state, good ol' Texas to move to Colorado to be near their daughter and her kid(s) and within traveling distance to BYU-Idaho where their 3 sons all go to school. Could they be more proud?

 

 Laura, Alex, Jonathan, and Anthony, you have some great parents!