Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip with Sausage

Today I received my Pampered Chef "All the Best From Our Kitchens to Yours" cookbook. Oh my! I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch yet and my mouth was literally watering as I looked through it. I saw the Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip recipe and realized I had all the ingredients already so I modified the recipe quite a bit and although I'm sure the PC recipe is good, the alterations to it that I made make it fantastic if I do say so myself :-) So here is the modified recipe. It makes a lot so there may be leftovers. I plan on using this for sandwich filling for lunch as well!

Ingredients:

• 2 packs of frozen chopped spinach (thawed with excess water removed)
  
• 2 14 oz. cans of artichoke hearts, coursely chopped
  
• 1 brick of softened cream cheese
• 1 c. mayonnaise (I use light mayo)
• 1 c. sour cream (you may have guessed, I use light sour cream)
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed (if you're like me and love garlic, you'll probably use 3 cloves as I did)
• 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 3 garlic sausages (you could substitute with Italian sausage)
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional - for a little heat if you want it)

Preparation:

• Finely slice the sausage then cut the pieces in half. Mix all ingredients very well, put it in a baking dish (I used a square 9 x 9 dish but it was filled to the top, you might want to use a slightly larger dish). Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.