This is not an actual recipe, nor is any cooking involved, but for a quick dinner, it can't be beat.

1 bag or box of croutons, whatever flavor you like (I recommend Marie Calendar's butter and garlic, only because I like them!)
Perfectly ripe tomatoes, cut in chunks (in an amount proportionate to how many croutons you're using and how much you like tomatoes... I like mine to dominate the salad, so I use a bunch)
Cucumber, cut in chunks (I use hothouse, but you can use regular cukes, too; just be sure to take the skin off those)
Bottled Italian dressing (you can make your own vinaigrette, but since one point of this dish is that it's a 5 minute meal, I use the bottled)

Mix everything together and let it sit long enough for the dressing and juice from the tomatoes to soften the croutons.

Variations: Add cubed mozzarella cheese or any canned white bean, such as cannelini. Some people also add a mild onion.

You can add shrimp or chicken (or really, any meat you want) to this recipe, too.

Tomato Paella
Serves 4 to 6

3 cups water
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Large pinch saffron threads
1-2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (I just used 1 tsp and it was plenty)
2 cups Spanish or other short-grain rice
Minced parsley and basil for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Warm water in a saucepan. Put tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat.

2. Put remaining oil in a 10- or 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, saffron if you are using it, and paprika and cook for a minute more. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is shiny, another minute or two. Add wine and let simmer until it is mostly absorbed, then add the hot water and stir until just combined.

3. Put tomato wedges on top of rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in bottom of bowl. Put pan in oven and roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, return pan to oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. If rice looks too dry but still is not quite done, add a small amount of stock or water (or wine). When rice is ready, turn off oven and let pan sit for 5 to 15 minutes.

4. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with parsley and basil. If you like, put pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust before serving.

Note: I haven't made these for years. They are a recipe we used in Girl Scouts when we had a Mother's Day tea or other special occasion. Roll out slices of regular sandwich bread (white or whole wheat, or use one slice of each) so they're about half the original thickness. We also cut the crusts off. This is a good recipe to use if you want to use cookie cutters for your sandwiches too.

Boil the following until thick -
2 Tb. butter
1 Tb. flour
2 Tb. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. vinegar
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. half & half or cream (I used whole milk with excellent results.)

Then add:

8 oz. cream cheese
1 Tb. chopped onion
8 - 10 grated hard boiled eggs (depends both on the size of the egg used and on the proportion of cheese to egg you prefer. The recipe calls for you to grate the egg, but smashing them with a fork works just as well.)
pepper and salt to taste.

Notes: I like this recipe because you can control the amount of fat in the final product by choosing leaner packages of ground beef than the traditional hamburger used to make this. Even using the leaner meat, it isn't a heart or waistline friendly recipe, so I limit my indulgence to every few years. This time, it's been at least 5 years since I made this, but I'm thinking of having it this week. Things are stressful at work and for me, this is "comfort food". I like to make a sandwich of it on whole wheat bread with mustard and onion.

5 pounds ground beef
5 tsp. Morton Tender Quick meat cure
2½ tbsp. mustard seed
2½ tsp. garlic salt
2 tbsp. peppercorns, whole or cracked

Recipe
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Place in large covered bowl or 2-gallon ziploc bag and refrigerate.

Once a day for the next 2 days: Mix well & return to refrigerator.

On the 4th day, divide evenly and shape into 4 rolls about 2½ inches thick - no casings required. Bake at 150° for eight (8) hours. If oven doesn't go as low as 150°, go as low as you can. The thermometer on my "low" setting reads 170 and it is fine.

Note: I have never been able to find Cuban bread where I live and I have no idea what distinguishes Cuban bread from other types. I typically use French or Italian rolls, but if I had access to the real thing, I'd use it.

List of Ingredients

1 small pork loin roast - about 2-3 pounds
5 - 6 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup minced fresh onion
2/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry sherry
Recipe
Mash garlic and salt together with a mortar and pestle. (A rolling pin on a cutting board works pretty good too.) Add oregano, cumin, onion and both juices to the mash; mix thoroughly. Warm oil & sherry in small sauce pan; add the mash to the oil and whisk (to avoid spattering, don't let the oil get too hot).

Pierce pork roast as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork. Place in zip bag & pour garlic mixture over. Pressing out all the air, seal the bag & marinate for 1-2 days in refrigerator.

Place the roast in a shallow baking dish & dump the marinade over all; roast at 325� for about 20-25 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature registers 160�, basting occasionally. (If using glass or ceramic dish, reduce oven temperature to 300�.) Allow roast to set for 20-30 minutes before slicing as thin as possible or even shredding. If pan juices haven't reduced down enough during roasting, reduce them some more & then mix the juice with the sliced/shredded pork.

Assembling a Sandwich Cubano:

1 loaf Cuban bread, cut into 6-8 slices (or substitute 6-8 French or Italian rolls)
1 pound thin-sliced roast pork
1 pound thin-sliced smoked ham
1/2 pound thin-sliced Swiss cheese
dill pickles as needed
prepared mustard as needed

Slice rolls in half lengthwise. Spread mustard on cut sides; layer with pork, ham, pickles & cheese. Spray outside with cooking spray for grilling.

Place sandwich on hot griddle and place heavy iron skillet or bacon press on top of the sandwich to flatten - or use waffle iron or regular grilling machine with flat sides of grids. (You really want to smash the sandwich to about 1/4 its original thickness). Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side; slice in half diagonally and serve.