Leftover fondue + fresh strawberries = dessert!

Father's Day was a day of laziness, a movie & a nice dinner at home. We had some leftover chocolate fondue I'd made awhile back in the fridge that needed to be used up, and some fresh strawberries too. Hmmm, what could I possibly make with both? *think*think*think* And the winner is . . . chocolate covered strawberries! Who would have ever thought?

I didn't feel like dragging out the fondue pot [we had enough dirty dishes with the rest of the meal!], so I decided to be a renegade and simply heat the chocolate in the glass dish it was stored in. Viola! Instant [almost] success! It didn't take long to melt in the microwave at all, surprisingly.

I really liked the texture of the chocolate more than regular melted chocolate by itself [the fondue had other things added to it when originally made], which made it seem softer and less brittle and breakable. Smooth and creamy baby!

I topped 3 of the strawberries with sprinkles [Buppy believes that sprinkles = happiness] and 3 with leftover crushed Oreo cookies [because those need to be used up too!]. Then I dipped 3 small graham cracker squares in the chocolate to go along with the berries. Six strawberries total, meaning 2 for each of the kids and 2 for Buppy. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm not really into sweets [eating them, that is], so I passed.

I had an emergency phone call from a family member in the middle of dinner that lasted forever, but the kids and Buppy all said they liked my creations. Hopefully they weren't lying. Then again, who wouldn't love 'em? I still have more chocolate to use up, so now I'm on the hunt to figure out what else I want to dip. Banana? Eh, been there, done that. Kiwi? Melon? Fresh mint leaves? Hmmm, I'll work on that. In the mean time, here are what my berries looked like:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This is good. Like, real good. Messy, I'll admit, but worth it. Simple, too. Oh, and it's pretty!

Fresh Strawberry Pie
Adapted from Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2005
Judy Watson, Newmarket, Ontario

2 pints fresh strawberries
1 pastry shell [9 in.], baked
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
5-6 drops red food coloring, optional
Reduced-fat whipped topping

Set aside approximately 1 c. strawberries. Arrange remaining berries in pie shell. With a fork, mash reserved 1 c. strawberries; set aside.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add mashed strawberries and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into strawberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for up to 2 minutes until thickened [mine thickened almost immediately, just FYI.] Stir in food coloring if desired. Cool for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon over strawberries in crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with whipped topping. Yield: 8 servings.The original recipe calls for 3 pints plus 1 c. of strawberries, but to be honest, I'm not sure what'd I'd have done with all the extra berries. I used the 2 pints I had on hand and that seemed like the perfect amount. I suppose I could have mashed up a few more for the cooked mixture, but I don't feel like I shorted myself at all using only 2 pints.

This pie definitely didn't hold it's shape when it was taken out of the pie plate, but that's not a huge thing for me. As long as it tastes good --- that's more what I'm all about. I'm sure I'll make this again during the summer months. Enjoy!

P.S. Today I discovered that Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap topic is summer recipes. This is really the epitome of summer for me as I used to picked fresh strawberries every year with my grandparents when I was young. That's how you knew summer was really here. For more great summer recipes, check out her site!