When Life Gives You Lemons: Throw a Party and Make Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

When Life Gives You Lemons:

Throw a Party

and make Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

This post is sponsored by Thyme & Table. All opinions are mine alone.  #WhatAGoodThyme

Garlic Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is a beautiful entrée made with thinly cut chicken breasts, shallots, and parmesan cheese packed with a punch of lemon and garlic flavor that is perfect for entertaining or a weeknight dinner with the family.

My collection of utensils in the kitchen have some wear- a lot of wear actually and it is long overdue for some kitchen goodies! Thyme & Table’s new product line just launched at Walmart and I felt so inspired to throw a spring themed gathering with friends ad family after receiving this beautiful collection of utensils, gadgets, knives and a cutting board! Spring is finally here and the weather is getting nicer – although it did snow this morning here in Cincinnati but the sunshine is back so I am ready to say good-bye to winter. Let’s celebrate springs arrival!

A great party always has a great theme! ‘When life gives you lemons…’ is the perfect spring theme to infuse a bright spirit in my home and give me all the inspiration needed to create a gorgeous tablescape and amazing menu for all my guests.

When Life Gives You Lemons Tablescape

My favorite part of throwing a dinner party is transforming the dining room! I had so much fun stopping by Walmart to pick up everything I needed to make my guests walk in the room and say, “WOW.” Start your tablescape with a color palette. Lemons are yellow so that was an obvious choice but I also needed another complementary color to make my table pop! Blue and yellow are always a great a combination and have such a cheery affect so blue was the winner! Before shopping at Walmart, look around your house to see what can be utilized in the space already. I was able to pull a wreath, tablecloth, plate chargers, cake stands and a few other items from other rooms in the house to use.

Thyme & Table Winged Corckscrew shown in copper plated stainless steel.

What you need to complete a beautiful tablescape: 

• Salad and dinner plate for each guest.
• Water glass for each guest plus wine glass for those over 21 years old. Place a lemon slice into each water glass for taste and décor.
• Silverware set for each guest. I tied a knife, fork, salad fork and spoon into a bundle with some string to also bring in some decoration to each place setting.
• Napkins. The blue and plaid napkins were perfect for my theme creating a picnic feel.
• Tablecloth and runner. This is optional but it is also the easiest way to brighten up the table with a white tablecloth and blue runner which matches the plaid napkins.
• Flowers! Walmart has a flower section with a lot of options for you. I bought some tulips to place in a pitcher on the drink table and carnations to place into jars. To pull in some more yellow, I put lemon slices into the flower jars spread out along the table runner. Wrap a small bow around each jar and you have a beautiful, affordable and colorful centerpiece.
• Thyme & Table utensils for each dish you serve with appropriate size bowls or plates.
• Take those extra items you found around the house to decorate. I took down a large picture and replaced it with a wreath, set up my beverage server(which I recently found at Walmart) with lemon slices and water, placed cake stands everywhere and then just played with the design. I have a pitcher of flowers on top of a cake stand that is on a tray full of lemons. Think outside the box and layer your items and fill in areas with color! Fresh, whole lemons act as the perfect color filler.
• Name cards or a place setting decoration. A little décor on each place setting will go a long way. You can make adorable name cards, place a whole lemon on each plate, use a single fresh cut flower, or a small flower pot with a faux or fresh flowers.

Thyme & Table Winged Corckscrew shown in copper plated stainless steel.

When Life Gives You Lemons Menu

Menu planning can be stressful for a dinner party. My advice is to keep it simple. Pick an entrée, salad, two sides and a dessert. If you feel overwhelmed, ask guests to bring a dish. Nobody will mind throwing together a salad or picking up a dessert before they come over – people like to contribute so just ask for what you need.

Thyme & Table utensils shown including the mini silicone funnel.

When life gives you lemons menu:

• Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce. Recipe card below. Note that the Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce recipe card serves 4-5. I used two pans and doubled the recipe to feed 10.
• Roasted Green Beans with shallots and garlic.
• Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes.
• Spring Salad with strawberries, blueberries, sliced almonds, feta cheese and poppy seed dressing.
• Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake with a peach lemon glaze.
• Wine of choice for those over 21. I recommend a Riesling or Chardonnay and half of a bottle per person.

Thyme & Table knife shown from the 3-piece set and Acacia Board chopping block.

Prepping with Thyme & Table

I know you are scrolling through these photographs and eyeballing all these gorgeous kitchen utensils and gadgets! Thyme & Table doesn’t just offer beautiful products for your kitchen but the new line is full of items to make cooking more efficient. The Thyme & Table knife set is impressive with comfortable gripping and easy chopping.

Thyme & Table Grater shown in copper plated stainless steel and Acacia Board chopping block.

What else am I loving from the new Thyme & Table line? The copper plated stainless steel everything! From the cheese grater to wine opener to the collection of utensils- they are crazy gorgeous! Mother’s Day is approaching and I am envisioning a beautiful gift basket with the copper plated stainless steel collection and one of the Thyme & Table cutting boards.

Thyme & Table Whisk shown from the whisk and tong set.

I could talk all day about the new Thyme & Table line but we have some dinner party tips and an amazing recipe for Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce coming up and you don’t want to miss this recipe!

Tips to Make Your Dinner Party a Success

• When inviting guests, ask if there are any food allergies so you can plan the menu accordingly.
• Set up your tablescape the day before to make sure you have everything needed and to play with the arrangement until it is perfect. Also, make sure to iron the tablecloth and napkins.
• Prepare dessert the night before or the morning of party to check a big menu item off the to-do list.
• Prep all ingredients a couple hours before party. This includes measuring, chopping, washing produce and more. When dinner comes, you can cook in a clean kitchen more efficiently and quickly leaving you more time with guests.
• Before guests arrive, get your beverage station set-up an fill water glasses.

Thyme & Table spoon and slotted turner shown from the 2 pack Acacia utensil set.

Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

Chicken is always a great choice for dinner parties because it is simple and most people are happy to eat chicken. I wanted to create a chicken dish with spring in mind so it has a strong lemon taste that pairs so well with the garlic, shallots and parmesan so here comes the Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce.

Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

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Garlic Chicken with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is a beautiful entrée made with thinly cut chicken breasts, shallots, and parmesan cheese packed with a punch of lemon and garlic flavor that is perfect for entertaining or a weeknight dinner with the family.

• 4-5 chicken breasts, thin cut
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 shallot, diced
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• garnish with a lemon slice

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.
2. Place the pan onto the stovetop on a high heat and let it heat up. You can use a skillet or non stick pan.
3. Mince the garlic cloves and dice the shallot. Grate the parmesan cheese and juice a lemon.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken 5-7 minutes on each side.
5. Remove the chicken and place on a plate while you make the sauce.
6. Place the pan back on the heat on low-medium.
7. Add the butter, minced garlic and diced shallots. Stir often for 3 minutes keeping on eye on the garlic not to burn.
8. Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup heavy cream and ,5 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Let simmer 5 minutes.
9. In a small bowl, Mix the teaspoon cornstarch with tablespoon water and add to pan. Stir in the cornstarch mixture with sauce.
10. Add the grated parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Stir ingredients in and add the chicken back in.
11. Spoon the sauce over chicken and add a lemon slice garnish if you would like.
12. Serve.

Before stopping by Walmart to pick up your Thyme & Table products, visit their site by clicking HERE! Don’t forget to stop back in and comment below to tell me how your When Life Gives You Lemons spring-inspired dinner party went!

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