Hawaii

soon.... my dear sandy beach friend.... soon

My heart just stops

A song comes on the radio, I read something online, talk with a relative, or like tonight... I look at his blog and see a picture of my dad and my heart just stops. The tears come and I just freaking miss him! Time does heal, somewhat. But that emptiness is still there. Not so much on the surface as the raw hurt I had for so long. I can't pick up the phone and call to hear his voice. Football season is hard because he was always watching football. Heck, even watching the news is hard because I can't pick up the phone and talk to him about it. But tonight... looking at this photo, it just makes me stop and think Damn It! I Miss this Man soooo dang much it hurts.

I love you Dad with all my heart, forever and always!

xoxox

Braided Spaghetti Bread

One of my co-workers bring this amazing looking concoction for lunch every once in awhile. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try this weekend. I started with an all day preparation of my Grandma's Sauce. She taught me how to make this when I was about 18 or 19 years old. My favorite memory of my grandma was going to her house when she would make sauce and meatballs. As soon as I'd get to her house, I'd have a bowl of sauce and a meatball with garlic bread! Got to love an amazing, loving, Italian Grandma!

Dinner for the first night included chicken and pasta. After I used sauce for the chicken, I added hamburger and sausage to the sauce. 

For the next night, I attempted the Braided Spaghetti Bread (yes, spaghetti in a garlic bread). 

First, I used Rhodes Rolls (12). I left them out for about 5 hours to rise (they were frozen). I placed them on parchment paper as they rose so it was easy to roll out once they had risen. With the sauce being made, I cooked up some pasta (spaghetti), about 6 oz. Mixed the meat sauce and pasta until it was nicely coated. The recipe I was following said to roll the dough out to 12x16. Place the spaghetti down the center of the dough and I added a little extra sauce. I also added mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce. Finally cut about 1" strips on both sides of the dough and 'braid' the strips over the top of the spaghetti. Brush the top with an egg white and sprinkle it with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350F for 30-35 mins. 

 Buon Appetito!

My first love...

I wish I could get on a plane to go here....

and spend some time with this man....

because he would make everything better!

My first love... My Dad.