Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cake (THM: S)

Over the past year, I've been on a quest to eat healthier. Last January, I blogged about the big changes my family had made in our diet (to see that post, go here), and then, in September, I heard about Trim Healthy Mama (THM). The book was another eye-opener. Before reading THM, I understood the importance of eating clean, whole foods, but after reading THM, I finally understood how food actually works in our bodies. I learned about fuel sources, hormones, foods to eat, and foods to avoid.

THM offers a great, straightforward plan for eating. There are wonderful, healthy recipes to try, practical advice to follow, and amazing success stories to marvel at. I won't go into too many details, but if you're looking for a healthy lifestyle change, consider checking out Trim Healthy Mama.

With THM in mind, I've adapted one of my favorite oatmeal cake recipes and thought I'd share it here. My children and husband actually liked this one! I've tried a few others, and received the thumbs down. We've had to throw away some baked goods that did not hold up to the promises made on blogs and websites. It always such a let down (and a waste of money!).

This recipe is different. It has that cake texture we love, with rich, wonderful flavors. I love it.

Here's my one caveat: I never compare a healthy recipe to its un-healthy counterpart. When I do, I'm inevitably disappointed. Let's be honest. Sugar and refined white flour are divine. That's why we've been eating it in excess (and our health has been suffering). Replacing sugar with stevia or xylitol, and white flour with oat flour, will give you a different product. Judge each recipe on its own, not in comparison with another. Not just the recipe I'm offering below (which I think is amazing), but with all healthy recipes.

Without further ado, here is my Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cake (THM: S). It's similar in flavor to the Cookie Bowl Oatmeal in the THM cookbook. Yum!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cake (THM: S)
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. oats
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. Truvia (or your favorite sweetener of choice, adjusted to your preference)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. oatmeal flour
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
4 tbsp. defatted peanut butter (or peanut butter flour)
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar free chocolate chips (optional)

Pour water over oatmeal and let stand 20 minutes covered. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan. Cream together butter and sweetener, then add vanilla and eggs. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine oatmeal flour, cocoa powder, defatted peanut butter, soda, and salt. Add to wet mixture and mix well. Will be very thick (like brownie batter). Add wet oats and chocolate chips, and mix again. Pour into greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes (don't over bake).

You can eat 1/8 of this cake to stay in S mode, which is about two generous pieces! Share the rest with your family, or save it for later. I actually liked it even better the next day. Enjoy!

Chicken Salsa Recipe + a Great Tip

From chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com

Today I wanted to share a new family-favorite recipe - and a great tip I came across to make it even easier!

The recipe is for Salsa Chicken. It's incredibly easy to make and every member of my family loves it (which is truly remarkable). You can serve it on tortilla skins, over rice or how we enjoy it most: as a dip with tortilla chips.

It requires shredding chicken - and that's where my tip comes in. I discovered the easiest way to shred chicken. Just take it out of the crock pot and put it in your stand up mixer! It was shredded in seconds. I slipped it back in the crock pot, stirred it around and voila! So much easier than shredding it with a fork.

 

As always, my favorite recipes are ones I can keep the ingredients on hand - and this is one of them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (I used the cream of chicken)
1 cup salsa
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
cilantro, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Put chicken, soup, salsa and black beans in slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. Cook on low for 6 hours. If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to slow cooker. Stir in sour cream and heat just until everything is combined.

Winter Fun Idea & Menu Monday

I had so much fun sharing my menu plan last week, I thought it would be fun to make Menu Monday a semi-regular part of my blog! You can expect to get a Minnesota Monday or a Menu Monday here (and sometimes both!) at the beginning of each week.

Today is one of those days when I'll be sharing a little of both. I've included links to the recipes I made from last week's menu at the bottom of this post.

I also wanted to share a fun idea to keep those (Minnesota) winter blues away. My twins are almost three years old and they both love trains. As the temperature plummeted here last week, and I knew we wouldn't get outside as much as we'd like, I came up with an idea to keep those little bodies busy inside.

They played for hours and wore off so much energy!

I made a train track around our living room! The boys spent hours, over the course of five days, playing on that track. Sometimes they were the train, sometimes they brought out their big cars and pushed them around the room, and once or twice they had my kitchen stools lined up as the train. They would call "all aboard" and we'd sit on their stool-train and pretend we were going to far away places.

It was a lot of fun and just cost a few dollars for a roll of masking tape.

My two pieces of advice: first, try to use the thicker masking tape (I couldn't find it at our local Wal-Mart, so I used the thinner stuff, which I had to use more of) and second, don't leave it on for more than five or six days. I wasn't sure how hard it would be to get off the carpet - I'm thinking if it stayed down longer, it might get sticky and harder to take off (just guessing - I didn't have a problem with it getting sticky).

The piano bench was a "tunnel"

A tip for removing the tape: I used a butter knife to get under the tape - it was a little hard to get under with my fingers - but easy to get up with the butter knife.

Next time we'll experiment with other track formations!

What about you? What ideas do you have to keep the little ones busy during the cold winter months? If you don't have kiddos, or you don't live in a cold climate, what are your best memories of "homemade" fun from childhood?

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Here are the links to my recipes from last week's menu:

Lemon Garlic Chicken (Slow Cooker)
Easy Stir Fry
Nana's BBQ Sauce (over ribs in slow cooker)
Wild Rice Confetti Style Soup
Chicken Corn Chowder

Lemon Garlic Chicken - Slow Cooker

Lemon Garlic Chicken - Slow Cooker
Original recipe makes 6 servings       

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves                                                    

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions

1. In a bowl, mix the oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into chicken. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken in butter for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a slow cooker.
2. In the same skillet, mix the water, lemon juice, garlic, and bouillon. Bring the mixture to boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 6 hours. Add the parsley to the slow cooker 15 to 30 minutes before the end of the cook time

Easy Stir Fry

Easy Stir-Fry
1 lb. Round Steak (cut up into think pieces)
1-2 T. Soy Sauce
2 c. Beef Broth
2-3 T. Corn starch
3 T. cold water
Vegetables of your choice (broccoli, onions, green or red peppers, green beans, pea pods, mushrooms, sprouts, squash, etc.) In the winter, I often buy two bags of frozen stir fry veggies.

1. Cut up meat and marinate in soy sauce for at least half an hour.
2. Cut up vegetables and set aside. Precook broccoli or any frozen vegetables slightly in microwave.
3. In about half of a tablespoon of hot oil, stir fry vegetables, usually one group at a time, in a wok or large non-stick fry pan on High to seal in the juice. Set veggies aside as they are done (cover with tin foil to keep in heat). Don't overcook the veggies, just until they are crisp.
4. Stir fry meat in the same manner until a little browned (about a third of the meat at a time).
5. Add in veggies.
6. Cover with hot beef broth. Bring to a boil.
7. Combine corn starch and water, then add to the boiling broth to thicken. Cook until mix is thick.
Serve over warm rice. *Can also use chicken - just use chicken broth instead of beef broth*

Super delicious! A family favorite.

Nana's BBQ Sauce

Nana's BBQ Sauce
1/4 c. Ketchup
2 T. Chili Sauce
1 T. Brown Sugar
1 T. Butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
dash of garlic salt

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Great over Country Style Ribs in a crock-pot.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Chicken Corn Chowder
3-4 Chicken Breasts
Bay leaf or basil
1/2 lb. bacon
1 yellow onion
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, sliced
5-6 medium potatoes, cubed
1 c. carrot pennies
1 T. chicken base
3-4 c. creamed corn
3-4 c. milk or Half & Half
Fresh minced parsley (optional)

To make chicken stock, place chicken breast and bay leaf (or basil) in 2-3 inches of water. Bring to boil. Simmer approximately 30 minutes, until cooked. Meanwhile, cut up bacon into small pieces. Brown bacon. When nearly crisp, drain half of the grease off. Add onion and mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from stock and add potatoes, carrot pennies and chicken base to stock. Simmer on low heat. When nearly cooked, add bacon mixture to stock. Meanwhile, debone chicken and return to soup pot. Reduce heat to low and add creamed corn and milk (or half & half). Garnish with parsley.

Wild Rice Confetti Style Soup

Wild Rice Confetti Style Soup

Ingredients
4 c. water
3/4 c. wild rice
1 lb. bacon
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans evaporated milk
1 to 2 cups regular milk
1 c. finely chopped peppers (your choice: green, red, yellow, etc.)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 medium potato, chopped
1 cup chopped celery (we omit)
3 cups cubed cooked, cubed chicken

Directions
Boil chicken, cube & set aside.

Combine wild rice and water. Simmer 1 hour. Drain.

Cut and fry bacon until crisp. Drain & add to wild rice, along with chicken.

Add cr. of celery, cr. of mushroom, condensed milk and regular milk.

In bacon drippings sauté peppers, onion, potato & celery. When tender add to soup and simmer in a covered pot 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

 

Baby It's Cold Outside - And Meal Plan for the Week

Brrrrr... It's cold in Minnesota today!

Here's the forecast for my Minnesota Monday:
Bitterly cold. Sunshine and clouds mixed. Dangerous wind chills may approach -35F. High -7F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.

So this is where my family will be cuddled up:

The one time I need to leave the house today is to do my weekly shopping.

I try to create a menu plan each Sunday night (with my grocery store insert in hand). As I looked online for meal ideas today, I didn't have good luck finding ones my family will eat. So after I made my menu plan for the week, I thought I'd share it, in case it inspires you!

If you're interested in the recipes for any of these dishes, let me know and I'll share them on my blog.

I usually plan five meals a week. It allows us to be flexible two nights a week for leftovers, eating out, throwing a frozen pizza in the oven or eating at someone else's house.

Without further ado, here's my menu for the week:

Monday: Beef Stir-fry & brown rice (a recipe from a good friend who learned it right from LeeAnn Chin!)

Tuesday: Chicken Corn Chowder (my mother-in-law's recipe and one of my hubby's favorites!)

Wednesday: Lemon Garlic Chicken for the Crock-Pot (new recipe I've never tried from www.allrecipes.com) I'll serve this over egg noodles with glazed carrots.

Thursday: Fiesta Wild Rice Soup (I received this recipe from an old co-worker at one of my bridal showers - another favorite of my husband's)

Friday: BBQ Ribs in Crock Pot (SUPER easy recipe my mom used to make) I'll serve it with mashed potatoes and green beans.

What about you? Do you make a weekly menu plan? What's on your menu for the week? If you don't have a plan for the week, what's for dinner tonight?

The Easiest Soup You'll Ever Make!

I love a good recipe, especially one that I can keep all the ingredients on hand and whip together in less than five minutes! When it's delicious, I feel like I've scored big time. :)

Here's the easiest soup you'll ever make (I doubled the recipe and we had a bit left over for lunch the next day):

6 Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, drained
Tortilla Chips
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese

Pour contents of cans into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded cheese.

~ ~ ~ ~



I will be taking Wednesday and Friday off from my blog in honor of Thanksgiving! I'm hosting both sides of our families this year, so I'll be busy cooking and cleaning.

What about you? What are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you hosting this year? Or are you traveling?

I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Super Easy Meat Loaf Recipe

Every once in a while I love to share a super easy recipe (I'm all about easy meals!) - and I'm especially crazy about this one because everyone in the house likes it! It came to me from my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Cookbook from my friend Cassie.

Cheaters Meat Loaf
2 lbs. ground beef
2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1 T. seasoned salt
1 egg
1/3 c. ketchup
1 box Stove Top Stuffing (and flavor)

Mix together and put in a loaf pan and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until fully baked (I often split this in half and cook two loafs side by side in a 9x13 pan so it cooks faster).

This is a super simple recipe with ingredients I like to keep on hand. Serve it up with mashed potatoes and a veggie and suppers on the table!

What's for dinner at your house?

Beka's Chicken Enchiladas & A Winner

I thought it would be fun to spice things up a bit this Monday and share a favorite recipe with you! This one comes from my good friend, Beka. She made it for us at a MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) Steering Retreat five years ago and then put it in our MOPS Cookbook. It's super easy to make, it freezes well and it's crowd pleaser.

Beka's Chicken Enchiladas

2 c. cooked shredded or cut up chicken

1 (16 oz.) pkg. Sour Cream

2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup

1 can diced green chilies
2-4 c. shredded cheese (depending on your taste)
10 flour tortillas

Place frozen chicken in crock pot in the AM, or fresh chicken, cooked up any way. Crock pot chicken is the easiest to shred. Mix together cooked chicken, sour cream, cream of chicken soup and green chilies. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Place about 1/3 cup of mixture in middle of tortilla and sprinkle a little cheese on top of this. Roll up tortilla and place in pan. When all the tortillas are made, spread the remaining chicken mixture on top and cover with left over cheese. Bake at 375 degrees, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until cheese is browned.

This recipe also freezes well. Place pan from freezer into oven and bake for one hour, covered with foil. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes.

What about you? What's for dinner at your house? Do you have a good chicken enchilada recipe?

~ ~ ~ ~

I have a winner for Donna Pyle's amazing giveaway! The winner receives a copy of Donna's newest Bible Study, The God of All Comfort, a copy of Your Strong Suit (including DVD teaching), a coffee mug, $15 iTunes gift card and a $50 Amazon gift card!

And the Winner is...

Jessica R. Patch!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the drawing, and thank you to Donna Pyle for stopping by to visit. I had a blast hosting her. :)

Creamy Mandarin Orange Salad

My mom made this recipe when I was a little girl and I loved it. The other day someone mentioned a recipe similar to it and I realized I hadn't made this one in a long time, so I went out and bought the ingredients and ate the whole thing in a day! :) Enjoy.

8 oz. tub of Cool Whip

22 oz. tub of small curb cottage cheese
24.5 oz. jar of Mandarin Oranges
3 oz. packet Orange Jello (optional) - I didn't use it for the recipe pictured, but my cousin recommends it

Combine all ingredients and store covered in the refrigerator.

Black Bean, Corn & Mushroom Chili

I've never been a fan of chili beans, so I was excited when I started dating my husband Dave and found out that his mom had a great chili recipe that didn't call for the chili beans. Originally, she didn't have the black beans in this recipe, either, but since I started making it, and I'm always trying to get healthy food in my kiddos' bodies, I've added the black beans and we really like it. If you're not a mushroom fan, you can always omit the mushrooms and you're still left with a great black bean & corn chili. This is my favorite chili recipe ever ~ enjoy!

2 lbs. Lean Ground Beef
2 (29-oz.) can Tomato Sauce
2 (29-oz.) cans Diced Tomatoes with seasoning
2 T. Chili Pepper
1/2 T. Salt
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 T. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Paprika
1 T. Onion Powder
1 T. Garlic Powder
3 c. Niblet Corn
1 (15-oz.) can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
4-5 jars Whole Mushrooms (cut in half)

2 (8-oz.) cans Sliced Mushrooms

Shredded cheddar cheese, garnish

Sour cream, garnish

Tortilla Chips, garnish

Brown ground beef - drain extra juice. Add cans of tomatoes and seasonings (to save time, in place of seasonings, I recommend using Carol Shelby's Chili Kit, omit the mesa flour). Simmer 20 minutes on medium-low. Add corn, black beans and mushrooms. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese & sour cream. Serve with fresh tortilla chips.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

I love these bars! They are moist and delicious and way too easy to make. They're especially good heated up. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for a gluten free approach you could use oat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 cups oats
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cream butter, sugars, egg and vanilla with an electric mixer on high.

2. Mix separate and then stir in: flour, oats, salt and baking soda.

3. Add chocolate chips.

4. Press cookie dough into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and bars are set in the middle.

6. Cool for 20 minutes and cut into 24 squares.

Ravioli Soup Recipe

Before I started blogging some of my recipes, I hadn't realized how many "go-to" recipes I have. As a mother of four little ones, my recipes need to contain three important aspects: my children need to like it, it needs to be healthy (proteins, grains, veggies and dairy) and it has to be a recipe with ingredients I can keep on hand, things that freeze well or keep well on the shelf. I hope you enjoy this recipe today, it has all three!

Ravioli Soup

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

3/4 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1 T. olive or vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. onion, finely chopped

1 (24 oz.) can Italian style or plain crushed tomatoes

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 (14 oz.) can beef broth

1 c. water

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped (or 1-2 Tbsp. dried parsley leaves)

1 (16 oz.) pkg. plain cheese filled raviolis without sauce (found in the freezer section)

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (as garnish)

Combine all ingredients together, except frozen ravioli and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook ravioli according to package directions. Drain ravioli and add to soup. Serve with Parmesan cheese, sprinkled on top.

Tomato Florentine Soup (with tortellini)

Here is another go-to recipe for me (I always have the ingredients on hand) and one people request all the time. Enjoy!

Tomato Florentine Soup (with tortellini)
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. thyme
8 c. chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz.) cans Italian style diced tomatoes
2 c. packed spinach
2 tsp. basil
2 (16 oz) bags frozen cheese filled tortellini
Grated Parmesan, to taste

Heat olive oil in large kettle. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until soft. Add oregano and thyme. Cook one minutes. Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes, bring to a boil. Add spinach, basil and frozen pasta. Boil 5-10 minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Oatmeal Cake Recipe



I had to keep moving the cake out of
Asher's reach to try and get a picture!!



Every time I make this oatmeal cake I have people ask me for the recipe.  Yesterday I made it for my Parents of Multiples ECFE class and two moms asked for it, so I said I would post it on my blog.  It is moist, dense and a tab bit healthy (oatmeal is a super food, after all...).  I have to give a shout out to my friend, Bobbi Jo, who submitted this recipe to our MOPS Cookbook a couple years ago - I hate to take credit for this cake, but it has become one of my staple desserts since I always have the ingredients on hand, it's so simple to make and I LOVE IT.  Enjoy!

1 1/2 c. Boiling Water

1 c. Quick Cooking Oatmeal

1/2 c. Butter (no substitutes)

1 c. Brown Sugar

1 c. Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 c. Flour (I have used oatmeal flour to make it gluten free)

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Pour water over oatmeal and let stand 20 minutes covered.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan.  Cream together butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs and vanilla, then add flour soda, salt and cinnamon.  Beat well and add oatmeal mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes.  I usually frost it with store bought cream cheese frosting, but you can also frost it with a broiled coconut frosting or Cool Whip.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent (.01 a Load)



I didn't use a 5-gallon bucket, so measured out the correct
 amount of water to equal 5 gallons.  Also, I thought to take the
picture after I used the Fels-Naptha soap bar.  FYI- There is
enough Washing Soda and Borax to make at lot more laundry
detergent!  All I need is another Fels-Naptha Bar for less than $1.



I just came across a recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent via the Duggar Family Website (http://www.duggarfamily.com/) and it was super easy to make and comes out to be about .01 a load!  I have told a couple people about this and they have all been excited to get the recipe.  What a great savings!  This recipe produces enough laundry soap for 640 loads for front load washers.  That is more than enough for our family for a year.  Took me about 15 minutes to make.

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (baking soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - it must be sodium carbonate)½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.

- Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Chicken Capellini

This is one of my favorite recipes, and one of my "fall back" meals - you know, the one you fall back to when you don't know what else to make.  I almost always have these ingredients on hand and it is sooooo good.  Enjoy!

Chicken Capellini
4 Chicken Breasts, seasoned and cooked to taste (cubed)
12 oz. package spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package direction
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) Italian Style Diced Tomatoes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 c. chopped fresh basil leaves (or 2 T. dried basil)
1/3 c. olive oil
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil, add garlic and cook until tender.  Add tomatoes, pepper and basil and heat through, stirring constantly, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Transfer hot, cooked pasta to a large bowl.  Toss pasta gently with tomato mixture, cooked chicken and half of Parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately and pass remaining Parmesan.