Stuffed Strawberries

I've had a serious sweet tooth lately.  Today my husband starts a new night class...in addition to teaching full-time, coaching, serving on various committees, and....oh yes, participating a fantasy-football league.  He's a busy guy!  I figured making him a special treat would be: a.) nice, and b.) a guiltless way of indulging my craving for chocolate.

This dessert is fantastically easy.  I made it frequently in the past, but just the other day realized how easily I could make this recipe fit in with my nutrition goals.  In other words, nix the sugar.  I was pleased to find that I didn't miss it.  If someone had told me that I wouldn't like eating the sugar I was accustomed to eating anymore once I took it out of my diet for a while, I wouldn't have believed them.  But, I have found it to be true.

Cream Cheese Filling:
6 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 Tb. coconut oil (melted)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 packets of stevia, truvia, or sweetener of your choice
10 drops vanilla creme stevia  (increase or decrease to your taste)
optional: 1 or 2 Tb. vanilla protein powder

Chocolate Drizzle:
1 ounce unsweetend Baker's chocolate
1 Tb. dark chocolate chips

 Instructions:
1. Slice the top (leafy green) off the strawberries so you have a flat top.  (I made about 15 strawberries.)
2. Next, slice slivers of strawberries out to form an "X" shape.  However, be careful not to cut down to the bottom and cut the strawberry in half!
3. Blend the cream cheese, coconut oil, vanilla, and stevia until well blended.  Add in your sweetener of choice and protein powder if you're using it.
4. Put the filling in a pastry bag...or use a ziploc with a small hole in it if you can't find yours!...and pipe into the strawberries.
5. Melt the chocolate in your microwave or a double boiler.  Let cool slightly, and then drizzle onto the strawberries.  Pop those babies in the fridge to allow chocolate and filling to harden a bit.  Hide them behind a gallon of milk to protect them from ravenous toddlers.  Serve cool.  (I've also used tiny morsels of pecans, chopped peanuts, and crunch cacao nibs for toppings...but nothing beats really dark chocolate in my opinion.)