Everyone has their favorite foods which they crave from time to time, and especially around some special dates, like holidays or birthdays.

My husband just celebrated his Birthday, so I prepared his favorite food for his special day.  For the main course I prepared a beef dish, Beef Roulade (his second choice next to Fillet Mignon on the grill), and Ice Cream cake for dessert.

The recipe for the Beef Roulade was graciously passed on to me by his aunt, since he totally admired her cooking and absolutely loved this dish.  It is not a difficult dish to prepare, but a little time consuming.

I am sharing the original recipe with you, but check out my tip at the bottom of the post, for pressure cooker usage, to cut down on the final cooking time.

I also would like to share with you that several years ago I submitted this recipe for a beef contest organized by a local radio station in upstate New York, and I was selected as the winner of that contest.  As a prize, I won a  six months supply of Angus Beef, from a local grocery store.  I was very happy, to say the least!

Ingredients:

• 12 thin slices of Eye of Round beef (thickness of a Minute Steak)
• 6 slices of bacon (cut in ½)
• 12 slices of onion (1/8 inch wedges)
• 3 pickles, sliced lengthwise into 4th or 8th (I use Claussen’s Kosher Dills)
• Mustard (I use the Grey Poupon, or Gould)
• Salt & pepper
• 2 Bay leaves
• ½ cup flour
• Oil for sautéing
• ¼ cup Heavy Cream, also known as Whipping Cream (for the sauce)
• 1 Tbs corn starch
• 1Tbs  Sour Cream
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh Dill leaves
• 12 round, natural color toothpicks or kitchen string (for securing meat rolls in place)

Directions:

1. Pound each meat slice with a meat mallet, to tenderize.
2. Spread meat slices over wax paper.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place ½ slice of bacon on top on each meat slice
5. At one end of the bacon covered meat, place a piece of pickle and onion.
6. Spread 1/8 of tsp. of mustard over the remaining section of the bacon.

1. Roll up from the stuffed side up, to enclose the filling well.
2. Fasten the roll with a toothpick or a string.

1. Sprinkle the rolls with flour, on all sides.
2. Heat 2 Tbs. of oil in a frying pan, place the rolls in the pan and brown on all sides.
3. Lower heat to a simmer, add ¼ cup of water.
4. Add bay leaves.
5. Cover and simmer for about 45 – 60 min., or until the meat is nice and tender.
6. Keep on adding a little more water if necessary.
7. Discard the bay leaves.
8. Remove meat from the pan and place it in a casserole dish in a single layer.
9. Cover and set aside.
10. Add 1 cup of water to the pan with the meat drippings.
11. Bring to boil.
12. Dissolve corn starch, flour, or gravy powder, mix in heavy cream, and add to the pan.
13. Bring to boil, and simmer for about 3 min.
14. Season with salt, pepper.
15. Temper the sour cream with some of the hot sauce, mix well, and add to the sauce pan.
16. Do not boil (it will make it curdle).
17. Pour the sauce over the meat, and sprinkle chopped dill over the top to garnish.
18. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta.

TIP: Once you completed browning all the meal rolls, you may finish cooking them in a pressure cooker.

1. Place the grade, or steamer basket on the bottom of the pressure cooker.
2. Add 1 1/2 cup of water.
3. Arrange the meat rolls in the pressure cooker.
4. Add two bay leaves.
5. Follow your pressure cooker instructions for securing the lid.
6. Once the steam begins to escape regularly, cook for 15-20 minutes.
7. Follow manufacturers instructions for cooling off the pressure cooker.
8. Remove the meat from the pressure cooker.
9. Place in a casserole/serving dish.
10. Prepare the sauce in a separate pan with the dripping from the pressure cooker and the remaining ingredients for the sauce and complete by following the above sauce directions.

Congratulations!

We successfully completed the Detox  Phase of the Fat Smash Diet.

Didn’t the 9 days just fly by?  Aren’t you feeling better already?  I sure am; it feels great!

Phase Two is much easier than Phase one, in regards to food selection.  Even though we still continue with all the foods from Phase One, we are making new additions.  This phase lets us get back to many of the foods we were missing during the past nine days.  It still is very important to eat 4-5 smaller meals per day, and healthful snacks in between.

We must remember NOT to skip meals, and stick to the eating schedule we have set up for ourselves in Phase One.  We must keep up the good work with physical activities, to keep on smashing the fat, and building good habits.

Here are the additional selections of daily servings:

MEATS:
(portions are 3-4 oz, which is equivalent to a deck of playing cards.  All these meats and fish are baked or broiled, NOT FRIED)

• Chicken without the skin
• Turkey  without skin
• Ground Beef:  EXTRA lean or ground sirloin
• Sirloin steak
• Lamb

SEAFOOD:

• Halibut, Tuna, Salmon, Snapper, Striped Bass, etc. – 3 oz. servings
• Shrimp – 4 large
• Mussels – 3 oz
• Oysters – 6-12
• Clams – 3

EGGS:

• 1 whole egg- scrambled, boiled, or poached

MILK and CHEESE:

• 2 1/2 cups of low-fat, skim, or soy milk
• 2 oz. of cheese (2 slices)
• ½ cup of cottage cheese

CEREALS:

• Any unsweetened cereals – 1 cup of cold, or ½ cup of hot
• Sweeteners:
• 4 tsp of granulated sugar (or sugar substitute)
• 1 Tbsp honey

DRINKS:

• Coffee – 1 10oz cup, and 3 cups or herbal tea, and 5 cups of Club soda or 2 cans of diet soda, and 1 cup of iced tea (sweetened only with 2 packets of sugar substitute, or Lemonade made with real lemons and 2 packets of sugar substitute or 2 tsp of granulated sugar.
• Unlimited flavored seltzer or tonic water
• Unlimited tap of bottled water

SNACKS:

• 2 graham crackers and 2 tsp. low-sugar jelly
• 2 Tbsp raisins and 10 peanuts
• 2 gingersnaps and ½ oz cheddar cheese
• 2 small chocolate chip cookies
• 15-20 fat free Tortilla chips
• 4 animal crackers and 1 small orange
• 2 rice cakes topped with 1 tsp. peanut butter
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 8 halves dried apricots and ½ cup skim milk
• 6 saltines-type crackers with 2 tsp. low-sugar jelly

EXCLUDED FOODS:

• White rice
• White Potatoes
• Bread/English muffins
• White pasta or whole wheat pasta
• White flour
• Pasties, donuts, Danish, cakes,cookies, brownies,
• Candy
• Ice Cream
• Potato chips, corn chips, tortilla chips, popcorn
• Chocolate
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Alcohol
• Fried foods
• Fast Foods
• Regular Soda
• Sweetened juices from a bottle or can
• Milkshakes
• Frappuccino
• Café latte or cappuccino

TIP: Don’t forget to do some physical activity after dinner.  Also, remember your food portion size:  less is more!

Whenever you weigh yourself, do it in the morning just before stepping into the shower.  You will love your scale.

One of my husband’s favorite meals is Beef/Veal Goulash, served with garlic butter mashed potatoes.  I love cooking, but I really do not like to spend a lot of my time in the kitchen, so my pressure cooker comes in handy for this recipe, since it takes only 17 minutes to cook this meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. beef for stew
• 1 lb. veal for stew
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 onions chopped
• 8 allspice corns
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• 2-3 cups water (or enough to extend 2 inches above the top of the meat)

Directions:

1. Heat cooker and add oil.
2. Brown the meat.
3. Season the meat with salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. Add onions and saute until golden.
5. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
6. Add allspice corns, bay leaf, and water.
7. Secure lid per manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Bring to pressure.
9. Set your alarm for 15 minutes, from the time the steam begins to escape from the cooker.
10. Remove from heat and let the pressure drop at its own accord.
11. Once the pressure valve has dropped, release any remaining steam by turning the dial on the cooker’s lid.
12. Remove the cover.
13. Remove and discard the bay leaf, and allspice corns.
14. Thicken the goulash with a home made brown gravy, or your favorite flavor of McCormick’s gravy mix.
15. Bring it to boil, and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Beef/Veal Goulash may also be served over pasta, or rice.  Add a bowl of tossed salad, warm garlic bread, and a glass of water, to this dish, and your family will enjoy a nutritious meal, even on a busy week day.

Sometimes I add sauteed mushrooms and ½ cup of sour cream, to this recipe, and turn it into Beef Stroganoff.

What other comfort food can be more satisfying on a cold winter day, than a nice bowl of hot stew, served with a fresh piece of your favorite bread.   Preparing stew the old fashion way could be time consuming, but it only takes 15 minutes in a pressure cooker.  This stew recipe will easily serve four to six people.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lb. beef for stew
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green and Lima beans)
• 1 packet of McCormick brown (onion, or mushroom) gravy mix
• 6 cups of water
• 3 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Maggie seasoning to taste
• 1 Tbs. chopped parsley (optional)
• 1 Tbs. chopped dill (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat your pressure cooker with  2 Tbs. of vegetable oil.
2. Rinse the stew meat, pat dry with paper towel, and add to the pressure cooker.
3. Brown the meat on all sides, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and burning.
4. Once the juices are almost cooked out, add the chopped onion and sauté 2 minutes.
5. Add the vegetables, potatoes, bay leaves.
6. Salt lightly (account for the additional salt in the gravy mix).
7. Add 6 cups of water, or more, as long as the total content does not exceed ¾ of your cooker’s capacity.
8. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on securing the lid and positioning the vent.
9. Bring to pressure.
10. Set your timer for15 minutes, as soon as the steam begins to escape from your cooker.
11. Cool the pressure cooker immediately by following the manufacturer’s instructions on releasing the pressure, and removing the lid.
12. Mix the gravy, per package directions, and add to the stew.
13. Add pepper, Maggie Seasoning, and additional salt, if needed.
14. Bring to boil, and cook for 2 minutes.
15. Turn off heat.
16. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
17. Add parsley and dill.

Enjoy this hot, delicious stew, with a fresh piece of bread, and a glass of water, or your favorite wine.