Sausage, Bean & Spinach Dip

I found this recipe on the My Recipes website (Southern Living) a while back and had been meaning to make it.  Low and behold my Mama made this same dip for a football game - great minds think alike right?!

It was delicious and I ended up making it for another football game, where it received equally rave reviews.

This is a hearty dip that packs a ton of flavor.  Between the sausage, onion, crushed red pepper, garlic and pintos there is a lot going on.  Even the wine weaves its essence throughout the mixture.  The cream cheese really works to bring all of these flavors together and keeps them in each in balance.

 A few notes:
- You can really change up the flavor of this by the kind of sausage you select. The first time we made this we used a hot sausage, the second a maple sausage. I really liked that hint of sweetness that the maple sausage gave the dip.
- Not shockingly, I added crushed red pepper flakes (about 1 tsp) and a few dashes of garlic powder in when the cream cheese had started to melt.
- I used 3 large cloves of garlic. Again, this is a preference thing. 
- I used reduced fat cream cheese in place of regular cream cheese.

Sausage, Bean & Spinach Dip

1 sweet onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (1-lb.) package hot ground pork sausage
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (6-oz.) package fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
 crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook diced onion and next 2 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain.

Stir in garlic and thyme; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid has almost completely evaporated.

Add cream cheese, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until cream cheese is melted.

Stir in spinach and salt, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Gently stir in beans.

Pour mixture into a 2-qt. baking dish; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375° for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with corn chip scoops, bell pepper strips, and pretzel rods.