Braided Spaghetti Bread

When C and I decided to move to Arizona and at the same time move in together, I had two stipulations.  I needed to have a nice, functional kitchen; and since we were moving further away from family and friends in the Midwest, we needed a guest room.  I am happy to say we found a place that we both agreed on that met both of my requests!  We've also had a few rounds of visitors, and with Christmas and New Years coming it brings more guests to break in the room.  I made this baked spaghetti braid when we had two of C's friends from college visiting.  It was a great dinner to feed 4+ people, and was great for leftovers too!

For the dough I used frozen Rhode's dinner rolls.  I defrosted them and rolled them out into one big ball of dough.  You can use whatever dough you like, or make your own.

Love me some vodka sauce!  This is another liberty that's up to you - use whatever sauce you enjoy the most.

I used penne noodles, and thought it worked well.  Really any noodles will do the trick.  Cook according to package directions and mix in the sauce. 

You'll be using around 8oz of fresh mozzarella cut up into cubes.

Once the rolls are defrosted, roll them out into a large rectangle.  Mine wasn't perfect, but it worked!  Kind of reminded me of making the blueberry walkaways, only for dinner.

Place the cooked spaghetti in the center of the dough, leaving room and the top and bottom and on both sides.

Fold the top and bottom up on top of the pasta.  Cut the sides with a knife or pizza cutter (which I found easier) into horizontal strips.

Place mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta.

Fold the strips, alternating sides, on top of the pasta so it kind of looks like a braid.  Brush the top with egg wash and salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at  350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

These will fill you up fast!  I was feeding three guys and all of them were equally impressed with how fast they were full.  Next time I make this I'm going to try my own dough, but even with store bought it was really delicious. Pair it with a Caesar salad and what a great meal for you and your guests!  Oh - and make sure you have some wine on hand, or white Russians in our case :)

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Serves 6+

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed to room temperature

6 oz spaghetti, cooked

1 cup spaghetti sauce

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes

1 egg white, beaten

Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Once the rolls are defrosted, roll them out into a large rectangle.
Place the cooked spaghetti in the center of the dough, leaving room and the top and bottom and on both sides.
Fold the top and bottom up on top of the pasta.  
Cut the sides into horizontal strips.

Place mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta.
Fold the strips, alternating sides, on top of the pasta so it kind of looks like a braid. 
Brush the top with egg wash and salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at  350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.