Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, who can resist them?  My daughter requested them for a class party, and then I made some for the family too.  We won't talk about the fact that Christmas is a busy season as it is, and that my husband had been traveling extensively, and that I had had two of my three children home sick in the past week and that I was frazzled and that I had to memorize 8 pieces of music for a Christmas concert I was to sing in with our church choir.. and the fact that I got up at 4 30 in the morning to make these beauties!  It was all worth it.  And I got permission to use my words on songs I didn't get memorized!  Wahoo! (These are also nice for Valentines or any other occasion you can think of)
I got this recipe from allrecipes.com  it truly is a wonderful website if you have not discovered it yet.

Don't buy the overpriced chocolate dipped strawberries in the stores - they are so easy to make and delicious!  Makes about 3 packages of strawberries.  If you have chocolate left over use them to drizzle over cookies, or dip other fruit.  Very good.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients
16 ounces milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves
  
DIRECTIONS
   1. Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries (washed and completely dried!).
   2. In a double boiler (bowl over hot water in a pan), melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
   3. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into styrofoam for the chocolate to cool. (or in this case, I used cupcake papers and just put a berry in each.  Enjoy.