Crispy Shrimp with Cannellini Beans (aka romantic and healthy aren't mutually exclusive!)

I've had the same valentine for 15 years. A little crazy for a 31 year old, right? We tried to recount how we celebrated each Valentine's Day this past weekend, but we could only dig up a few highlights. This year definitely took the title of best Valentine's Day ever....we took our girl to the zoo, enjoyed lunch out as a fam (complete with balloons for the little lady), took a glorious two hour nap, enjoyed the sunshine at the park, and mama and daddy got to enjoy a little romantic dinner in.

My valentines checking out the elephants!

Originally, I had planned to make a salmon dish that I do every so often; it's sort of "fancy" but nothing too out of the ordinary--but hubs voiced his opinion, and given he's been a trooper with me as I'm working through 21 Day Fix again, I thought I'd honor his request when he picked a recipe out of one of my cookbooks. Naturally though, I had to "Allie" it up a bit. While it wouldn't be an entirely perfect 21 day fix meal, I counted it as a yellow (beans and breading), red (shrimp), green (kale and tomatoes), and gray (EVOO). Some days you just have to give yourself a little flex room!

Crispy Shrimp with Cannellini Beans

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

5 tbsp EVOO

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot, sliced thinly

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed

2-3 cups kale, chopped

1/4 cup chicken stock

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss tomatoes with 1 tbsp EVOO and some salt and pepper on a foil lined baking sheet (makes clean up a breeze!). I like to make sure tomatoes are cut side up; I just prefer when they roast that way. Roast in oven for 10-15  minutes while you prepare everything else.

In a medium bowl, combine breads crumbs, rosemary, thyme, and 2 tbsp of EVOO. Toss shrimp in with bread crumb mixture to coat each shrimp. Spread shrimp on a foil-lined baking sheet. Remove tomatoes from oven and add shrimp, baking for 10-12 minutes until shrimp is cooked through and breadcrumbs are crispy.

While shrimp cooks, add remaining EVOO to a skillet and warm over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook for 2-3 minutes till softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in cannellini beans and kale, sauteing for a few minutes before adding chicken stock to help wilt the kale. Just before pulling the shrimp from the oven, I stirred in the roasted tomatoes. 

Serve shrimp over bean mixture....ideally with a delicious glass of wine, some candles, and a sweet valentine :)