Before I get into this lovely recipe, I just had to post a picture of these gorgeous Calendula Flowers...in October?  I have never seen that before!  Usually, they are long gone by early September...our weather this year has been so strange.  Although, I must say, I appreciate the pretty color....
Onto the recipe.  This is my take on Rouladen.   I have never had Rouladen before, and given how much I love to stuff meat or vegetables, I just had to try this dish.  Normally Rouladen is made with dill pickles, but my DH would be horrified if he cut into beef and found a pickle.  Poor man, I cannot imagine disliking pickles of any kind.  So I decided to sneak in some Green Relish instead. Don't tell him okay?... it turns out he liked it, and none the wiser!
There are a few steps to this recipe, but it is not hard to do, in fact it was fun to make!  I made enough for two (one and a half each) so we could have leftovers tomorrow, so just adjust amount for your own needs.  Actually, now that this dinner is finished....there was not enough left over for tomorrow...DH ate 3 1/2 Rouladens, extra mashed potatoes and veggies... I would definitely say he liked it.
6 Rouladen round steaks (or you could pound out your own round steaks until quite thin)
salt and pepper
6 slices of bacon
1 onion, sliced - put half the onion aside for the sauce
Dijon Mustard
Green Sweet Relish
5 chopped crimini mushrooms
8 small carrots or 2-3 large ones, sliced in half and sliced in half again
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
14 oz. can of tomatoes
2 Tblsps. tomato paste
1 Bay Leaf
2 cups beef stock
In a dutch oven, add the bacon on medium heat, to brown until golden - but not dark and crisp.  Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add 1/2 the sliced onions, sauteing until golden - about 5-6 minutes.  While the onions are lightly browning, slice up the other onion, and chop the mushrooms, and celery.  I used 8 organic baby carrots, that were small enough they did not need chopping.
Remove the pan from the heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper, then add a spread of Dijon Mustard, and a good tblsp. of relish, spreading throughout.
Then take a piece of bacon, and break it up a bit, place in the middle of the Rouladen with a sprinkling of  caramelized onions.
Roll up and use a couple of toothpicks to hold in place.
Heat up the dutch oven with a good drizzle of olive oil on medium heat.  Brown the meat on all sides, about 5-8 minutes in total.  Don't worry if some of the stuffing comes out - it will add more flavor to the pot.  Once browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add another drizzle of olive oil to the pot, and brown the chopped mushrooms until golden.  Then add in the sliced onion, celery, and carrots, sauteing another 5-8 minutes.
Pour in the canned tomatoes and juice, scraping up any brown bits.  Add the bay leaf and one cup of Beef Stock, reserving the other one cup, then return the browned Rouladen to the pot.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover the dutch oven with a lid and bring to a good simmer, then place in the oven and braise for 1 hr. 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and transfer the Rouladen to a platter. If your stock has considerably reduced as mine did, add in the other 1 cup of Beef stock and the tomato paste , stirring to combine.  Heat on low medium, bringing to a simmer.  Simmer about 10 minutes to thicken and reduce the sauce.  Serve over mashed potatoes, with any other side dish - we had steamed buttered cabbage to go European all the way!