Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family to come together and commemorate the goodness the year has brought. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and has been a National holiday for 154 years starting back in 1863- all thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale who is most recognized as the songwriter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Sarah petitioned and wrote letters to the Presidents for 16 years before she was finally given consolation from President Abraham Lincoln. However, the tradition of Thanksgiving is most known by the feast of the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony who, at the time, had a peace treaty with one another. The Pilgrims had just finished their harvest and, by coincidence, the Indians had shown up and joined the feast, which lasted for three days. Fun fact–there were no forks at the dinner since they had not yet been invented.

According to Indian Country Today, a broken peace treaty and too many fatalities later, the Native Americans rejected the holiday. The fourth Thursday of November is a day of mourning for the Natives. They come together at Cole’s Hill and remember the suffering and anguish their people have endured.

Since the first Thanksgiving, the holiday has strayed from its religious roots and instead is a time for good food and a memorable experience with friends and family–whether it be good or bad.

Mr. Chavira, Taft High Foods teacher, makes holiday dinners annually and wants to share the joy he feels doing so with the students of TUHS. He loves cooking for his family and wants to give the students some guidance to help make their own delicious meals for their families. As a Thanksgiving gift, he has given his super secret recipe for macaroni and cheese with bacon to everyone before heading off to Thanksgiving break.

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon

Ingredients:   

• 2 pounds of Elbow Macaroni
• 3 Pounds of cheddar cheese sauce
• 3 Eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ Cup of diced bacon
• 1 Stick of butter

Directions

1. Cook the Elbow Macaroni in a pan of boiling water.  Make sure to stir the noodles every minute or so. Once you think the noodles are soft enough to eat, drain out the boiling water. It should take around 8 minutes to be cooked properly but it could take longer.
2. Mix the 1 stick of butter with the warm noodles.
3. Shred 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese and combine it with the cooked Elbow Macaroni.
4. Dice up strips of bacon until you fill ½ cup. Cook the ½ cup of bacon and then combine it with the Elbow Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese.
5. After everything is cooked put it all in a casserole pan and bake for 25 minutes.

After your macaroni is done baking, it is ready to serve and enjoy!

Source for Thanksgiving fun facts: allparenting.com “20 fun facts that ill totally impress the kids” by Kim Grundy