Taco Salad

This is an easy one and requires primarily chopping the vegetables and cooking the meat. We usually use ground turkey, though the recipe is the same as I would use for ground beef or cut up chicken. Some people, especially restaurants, use a different recipe for chicken, and I never like it. It just doesn't taste like tacos. I use shredded chicken and this same recipe.

Stuff to prepare (good things to have guests or helpers help with, so long as they are old enough to trust with sharp objects)

Dice onion,
Dice tomato (I like a solid one, like Roma; if using seedy, juicy tomatoes, feel free to add the liquidy stuff and seeds to the meat when you add the water), hot peppers if desired
Tear up lettuce
Shred cheese (we like pepper jack, but cheddar, mozeralla, CoJack, crumbled feta, and other cheeses or blends also work)
Slice black olives if desired
If desired, make or buy guacamole, salsa
Have also sour cream on hand
Taco salad shells are available for purchase but we usually just use a handfol of nacho chips, flavored or plain, on a pasta place

To prepare meat:
For everything except ground beef, put a little oil in a pan. Heat pan. Crumble or shred the meat into the pan, add some of the chopped onions if desired, and brown lightly, turning several times.
For fatty meats, drain excess oil before adding spices.
Add: (all amounts rough and intended for one pound of meat)
1/2 t. each tarragon, turmeric, chili powder (powdered chili pepper or your favorite chili blend), cilantro
add tobasco if desired
add lime juice if desired
Add 1/2 c. water and simmer meat about 10 minutes until all the liquid is cooked away. This draws the flavor of the herbs and spices into the meat and cooks the herbs and spices (and makes the cilantro palatable, in my view: I am not a fan of fresh cilantro)

Everyone has their own favorite way of stacking the ingredients. Mine is usually something like:

black olives
sour cream on one side, guacamole on the other
salsa if we have any handy; southwest sauce makes a nice change
tomatoes and onions
lettuce
shredded cheese (I like it melty and as a layer to absorb the heat so the lettuce doesn't wilt)
meat
chips