Strawberries with Sweetened Whipped Cream

Strawberries with Sweetened Whipped Cream...Well, strawberry season is here! You will probably find strawberries everywhere this time of year. I am actually waiting for some really, really fresh strawberries right out of my very own garden! I planted some last year ...not too many. I didn't get a whole lot, just enough to garnish a spinach salad and a few tartlets:). But this year, they have multiplied... just the other day, I saw some flowers! Yay! I am quite excited ... I get excited when things grow...you see, where I live, the climate isn't as conducive to gardening as in other areas. We have a VERY short growing season. But, these strawberries in this picture happen to be from Costco:). They were rather big...perfect for stuffing.
I saw these stuffed strawberries on allrecipes. I thought it was a rather cute idea. Since I had some whipped cream that needed to be used, I made them using whipped cream. If you go to their site, you will see that they used cream cheese instead. But I wanted to use up my cream...it needed to be used up. But next time, I think I will make them with cream cheese and see the difference. I think it will be quite delicious...just like strawberry cheesecake. You really can't go wrong with that combination. Anyway, feel free to use their recipe. I thought the idea was worth mentioning. Plus, they are quite simple to make. Feel free to add any flavors you like ...almond, vanilla, orange, irish cream(hmmm, I don't know, would that go?) etc. You can make one or two or enough for a party. They will go quickly for sure. I didn't want to make mine too calorie laden and so I opted to shave some chocolate on top. But, you can drizzle some melted chocolate all over. You will notice that I didn't cut off the green stems...that was purely for contrast.

You will need: you can easily adjust amounts

strawberries (about 8)
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 TBS powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (or any flavoring you like)
1 square chocolate, shaved

Directions:
Wash strawberries. Immediately pat dry with a paper towel. Cut off the bottom stem. Take a strawberry and cut an X through the top of the strawberry, being careful not to cut all the way through. You basically want to make 4 "petals" from each strawberry.
Whip cream halfway(soft peak stage) and add the sugar and vanilla. Beat till almost stiff. Place in a piping bag(or use a plastic bag...cut tip off) and pipe into the middle of the strawberry. Do the rest of the strawberries. Place them on a plate. Using a peeler, shave chocolate on top. Right before serving, sprinkle with some powdered sugar. It is important to know that these strawberries do no last overnight in the fridge...So, try making them as close to serving time as possible.
Another great idea:
Cut the bottom stems and core the strawberries(from the bottom ...not the point). Pipe whipped sweetened cream cheese....then dip the bottom into melted chocolate. Let set. Perfect finger food dessert!