Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I'm always amazed at how much it cost to BUY chocolate covered strawberries, when they are so simple and much less expensive to make yourself. I make them every Valentine's and Mother's Day. SOOOOO goood!

2 cups chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet)
2 TBSP. shortening
1 lb. fresh strawberries with leaves, washed and dried
white chocolate, melted

I usually melt the chocolate and shortening in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between until chips are soft and can be stirred smooth. I like to use a smaller bowl so that when I dip the strawberries I have more chocolate to dip in when I tilt the bowl. You can also melt using a double boiler, just be sure the water on bottom does not touch the bottom of the top pan.

Dip strawberries in chocolate mixture and then place on wax paper. Chill in refrigerator to set. Once chocolate has set, you can drizzle melted white chocolate over the them to jazz them up. Beautiful!

VARIATIONS: Use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate. Dip some in white chocolate and drizzle with semi-sweet chocolate. Dip them in whichever chocolate you prefer then immediately in sprinkles or chopped nuts to decorate.