Since when did going out to eat get so damn expensive? I mean seriously, the hubby and I cannot go out for a decent meal for any less than $80 now. How is this possible?
And then add the kids in there and we can’t leave for less than $100.
I love going out to eat and trying many different restaurants, but whenever I see the menu prices I cringe a little inside. This same chimichurri steak at a restaurant would easily be more than $15 for one person and I made it for the same price for the whole family.
I didn’t really realize before how expensive going out to eat was until we went on vacation. When you go out to eat occasionally and only for dinner it’s not a big deal. But when you go and have to eat 3 meals a day eating out then it definitely adds up quickly.
We probably spent more money on eating out than we actually did on the hotel room. Haha
But even though I’m ranting about the price of restaurants we did have a fantastic time at Mall of America. I was quite surprised when we got there as the mall didn’t seem as big as I originally thought.
Don’t get me wrong, the mall is huge, 3 stories, and basically the size of an entire city block or more but I might have over dramatized it a little. Still fun, nonetheless, with all the stores I could ever dream of to shop in.
We took 2 days to explore the whole mall and all the shops and buy some new fun things and then spent an entire day to let Alyssa get a wristband and play on all the rides they had inside.
She had a blast and while she was doing that, I was at one of the restaurants inside having a couple drinks.
We conquered the mall in about 2 1/2 days and then went back to the hotel early the last night to just relax before our drive home in the morning.
Once we got home, all I was craving to eat was a good steak so I made a quick chimichurri sauce while the hubby grilled a nice steak for us.
It feels nice to be back home and cooking our own food again.
Grilled Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lb flank steak
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Trim the fat from the steaks and place on a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl combine salt, garlic powder, cumin, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle over steaks and rub into steak.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in fridge for 1 hour.
- While steaks are marinating, make the chimichurri by combining all ingredients, except olive oil in food processor.
- Process while streaming in olive oil. Continue to process until smooth and creamy stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer to airtight container until ready to use.
- Once steaks are done marinating, remove from fridge and preheat grill to medium. Grill steaks for 5-7 minutes per side, turning once, or until desired doneness is reached.
- Remove from grill and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Slice steaks and serve topped with chimichurri.
