Taco Salad

In our house we both like to cook and we always start with a basic recipe and make little "tweaks" to punch up the flavor. This is incredibly tasty and easy to make. Feeds a crowd of hungry people too! We like to use taco shells instead of chips because it tastes better to us - not as salty and more of a corn taste.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2  lbs ground beef
• 2 (1 1/4ounce) envelopes  taco seasoning (we use hot and spicy)
• 1  medium onion, chopped
•  shredded lettuce (use 1 head and shred or buy the bagged lettuce already shredded)
• 1 (8 ounce) jar salsa (we used Chi Chi's hot Fiesta)
• 1  bunch scallion, sliced (with the greens)
• 12  taco shells
• 3  cups  shredded cheese (he likes cheddar and I like cheddar jack)
• 2 -3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (4 ounce) jar  sliced black olives
•  salsa
•  sour cream
•  guacamole (posted seperately)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Brown the ground beef with the garlic and onions, drain.
3. Follow instructions on the seasoning packets for the beef. Just before the liquid is all absorbed, toss in the jar of salsa and heat through.
4. Put taco shells into the preheated oven for about 6 minutes to warm them up and make them nice and crispy.
5. Assemble the salads - here is the order I do it: taco shells (broken into pieces), shredded lettuce, beef mixture, shredded cheese, black olives, scallions. I top with a spoon of salsa, a spoon of sour cream and a spoon of guacamole.