Paramount’s Chicken and Noodles with Rolled Barley

1 cup rolled barley soaked overnight in 3 cups of water

3 carrots, sliced

2 onions, diced

3 Tbs. butter

4 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 (4 lb.) whole chicken (or equivalent) cooked and deboned

1 tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. granulated garlic

4 quarts chicken broth (or soup base and 4 quarts water)

1 large bag Reame’s Noodles (or thick, old fashioned home-made noodles)

Sauté onions and celery in 3 Tbs. butter in a large thick-bottomed stock-pot, until onions are translucent.  Then add chicken broth, carrots, deboned chicken, rolled barley (do not drain), pepper, basil, garlic, and bring to a rolling boil.  Add noodles while at a rolling boil, stirring gently every 5 minutes or so.  Cook at least 30 minutes this way watching carefully that the noodles or barley do not stick to bottom of pan.  At this point I put into a 7 quart crock-pot and let simmer for another hour or 2.  The barley will thicken this up.