Karen Porter

“My Bell’s Best is split right in half,” said Karen Porter of Calhoun City, who has lots of cookbooks, including a collection of older ones belonging to her grandmother and her mother, and the “newer quick and easy ones from Pinterest.”
“ I can do recipes all day long,” she said.
But does she follow a recipe exactly?
“No,” she said. “I tweak. And I don’t measure a lot.”
She got the Caramel Brownie recipe from Raven Hawkins years ago, but has tweaked it since then.

“They are rich,” and a favorite of the staff of Calhoun City Elementary School, where she is a first grade teacher.
When Barbara Fox retired from there, the teachers made her a cookbook of all of their favorite recipes.
Menisha Gates at CCES likes a strawberry cake that Karen makes often and always bakes for Dr. Lisa Langford’s birthday, but it is a family recipe belonging to her mother-in-law that she doesn’t share. “It is super good,” she said.
The Sad Cake is “the easiest cake. It does look sad, but tastes good,” she said.

For as far back as she can remember she was helping her grandmother cook. “My daddy could cook, too, and did a lot of grilling, but I don’t grill.”
She and her aunt, Angie Bennett, cook a lot together, including “holiday stuff like sugar cookies, fudge and Oreo balls.” Her kids (Torri, Trey and Tate) “love Christmas time just for the sweets,” she said.
And she makes gumbo often and her family loves it, saying they are not picky eaters.
Steak and shrimp are Karen’s favorite and that’s what she always orders that when she goes out to eat.

Caramel Brownies
1 pkg. of caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 box Swiss chocolate cake mix (I only use Duncan Hines)
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix together the cake mix, evaporated milk, and melted butter with mixer. Batter will be thick. Divide batter in half and spread evenly into greased 9×13 pan. Bake 15 minutes. While bottom is baking, take plastic off all caramels and put them in small microwaveable bowl with evaporated milk. Microwave about five minutes, but stir frequently until melted. After 15 minutes pull brownies out and top with caramel sauce, spreading it very gently to make an even layer. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and then glob on the second half of the batter. Put back in oven for 10 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Sad Cake
2 cups Bisquick
4 eggs
1 lb. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup oil
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients. Pour in glass pan and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Let cool, then cut into squares.

Grape and Broccoli Salad
2 pkgs. fresh broccoli, just the tips, about 6-7 cups
2-3 pkgs. red seedless grapes cut in half (depending on size)
1 cup mayonnaise
3-4 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Stir together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar in large bowl. Add broccoli and grapes. Stir well to coat with dressing. Stir in pecans and chill until ready to serve. Stir again before serving.