Braided Spaghetti Bread

Ingredients:

2 loaves frozen bread dough
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. mozzarella, cubed
1 egg
parmesan cheese
parsley
garlic powder
Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Brown ground beef and onion, add sauce and set aside. Boil pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine pasta and sauce mixture. Place each thawed bread dough loaf onto a separate cookie sheet and spread and press them out making them into large rectangles. Sprinkle garlic powder or garlic salt on the dough for some extra garlic flavor. Place pasta and sauce along center of dough, dividing half onto each loaf. Place 1/2 of the mozzarella cubes on top of each. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in the dough about 1" apart, coming within 1/2" of the filling down the center. Fold the bottom and top edges over and pinch to seal. Braid the dough cuts over top of the spaghetti and cheese, left over right until all dough is folded over top. Beat egg and brush loaves with it. Sprinkle with parmesan, parlsey and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. Slice and serve.

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It originally came from the website for the company that makes the frozen bread dough but of course I altered it and made it my own. Their recipe just makes one loaf so the first time I made this, we ate every bit of it and wished for more. One might be enough if you served a salad with it or some italian green beans. We just go for 2 loaves now and have some leftovers too. Make sure you pick a spaghetti sauce that you like and would serve normally as regular spaghetti. We like one with a fresh basil flavor. You could make these loaves up the night before and store in the fridge until dinnertime. I think they would make a great dish for company too since you can make them up in advance and just put them in the oven when you're ready to eat. The mozzarella chunks melt and the cheese oozes out through the braid. I made this tonight and it is baking in the oven right now and smells delicious.