Christmas 2012 is over with and the New Year, 2013 is here. Charlie and I really enjoyed being with our daughter and her husband for Christmas. Our oldest son, Chuck, and his wife, Betty were also there just before lunch. Chuck stopped by my sister, Leasa's house and brought her with them. It was good to have her for Christmas since she had never spent Christmas with us before in all of her 61 years. After she opened her gifts she said with obvious delight, "This is the first time in thirteen years that I've had a Christmas like this." It pleased me that she was so happy. Our daughter is a great cook. This Christmas meal was another winner in my book. Marie has fixed German "rouladen," which is thin cut beef, spread with mustard, layered with one strip of bacon, then chopped pickles and chopped onions layered on top of the bacon. It is then sprinkled with Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb spices and rolled up from one end to the other. You secure it with toothpicks, usually three of them to hold it together. In a hot skillet with olive oil, brown the rolled meat on all sides. Add enough water to cover the beef rolls and add Mrs. Dash's to the water. For great flavor, add one or two bay leaves. Bring the water to boiling and then turn down to a simmer. Cover and let cook for at least two hours to tenderize the meat and cook the bacon thoroughly. Once the meat is done, remove the meat from the pan, take out the bay leaf and throw away. Strain the liquid through a strainer or sieve. Put the water back into the skillet to make good gravy. Some people who use corn starch as a thickener like I do, call it "sauce." It's still "gravy" in my book. I mix up a couple tablespoons of corn starch in a small bowl with cold water to make a thin mixture. Then when the liquid in the skillet comes to a boil, I slowly drizzle the corn starch mixture into it and stir until it thickens. You can still add some seasoning if you prefer. Then, add the meat rolls back into the gravy and let it simmer for at least five minutes to allow the meat juices to mix with the gravy. I serve this gravy over mashed potatoes accompanied by the "rouladen". It's delicious! On occasion I have made potato balls and poured the gravy over them on the plate. Green bean casserole is an excellent side dish with this meal. My contribution to our Christmas meal was strawberry pretzel salad and lemon bar cookies. We also took wine to share. Of course, there was delicious rolls and butter to round out the meal. Now, doesn't that sound like the perfect Christmas meal? Yum! Well, I hope you all had as nice a Merry Christmas as we did. And now we wish you all a very blest and HAPPY NEW YEAR, my blogger friends. May God bless your homes with love, prosperity, good health and much happiness in 2013.