Pumpernickel Bread Dip

About 10 years ago, a friend of mine brought a pumpernickel bread dip to a party. I loved her dip so much, I asked her for the recipe. She seemed to forget about it, so I reminded her a couple of times. Then she said that she couldn't find it - must have lost it. Right. I figured she was just one of "those" people who don't like to share recipes. She wanted to hoard all the good recipes so the rest of us poor recipe-less souls, would ooh and aah over her amazing cooking and lament the fact that we will NEVER be as good as her. Oh? Do I sound bitter? Yes, but it was SUCH a good pumpernickel dip! I have devoted most of the last 10 years of my life to trying to replicate her recipe so that I can post it all over the internet. Ha! That's what you get for messing with me! I hope the rest of you are shaking in your boots!

Pumpernickel Bread Dip

1 cup mayo
2 cups sour cream
1 envelope vegetable soup mix
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 1/2 packages of frozen spinach (drained and chopped)
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
2 loaves pumpernickel bread

1. Mix mayo, sour cream, and soup mix.

2. Stir in water chestnuts, onions and red peppers.

3. Squeeze extra water out of spinach (note: since the recipe calls for 1 1/2 packages of frozen spinach, cut through the second package while still frozen with a serrated knife, so you can put it back in the freezer to save for something else). Stir spinach into mixture.

4. Cut the top off one loaf of bread, and slice down around the edge (almost to the bottom) scoop out the middle to form a big bowl. Place the dip in the bowl and cut the remaining bread into cubes for dipping.