Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

Since she passed away in 1975, I never got to meet my maternal grandmother. However, given the numerous stories my mom has told me about her, I’m sure I would have gotten along with her famously. For starters, she was a hell of a cook; I’m fairly certain that if culinary skills were hereditary, she would definitely have been the person from whom I would have acquired them. Anyway, my mom has been making a variation of her chicken noodle soup for years. I call it a variation because my grandma made her’s a lot spicier.

1 - 15-oz. package chicken gizzards, thawed and chopped
1 - 23-oz. package chicken wings, thawed
1 - 15-oz. tub chicken livers, thawed
1 - 16-oz. bag frozen peas and carrots
1 - 2.5-oz. box Mrs. Grass Noodle Soup mix
12-16 cups water
2 cups fine egg noodles
2 cups chicken broth

In a Dutch oven, cook the gizzards in 8 cups of water (adding more as needed) until tender, about 2 hours. Add the chicken wings and cook for 45 minutes, again adding more water if needed. Add the peas and carrots and the broth packet from the soup mix. Cook for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, boil the chicken livers in 2 cups of chicken broth for 10 minutes. Drain and strain. Remove the chicken wings from the soup. Add the egg noodles and the noodles from the box of soup mix. Return to a boil and cook until noodles are done. Return the wings to the pot and add the livers. Heat through. Serve.