Article: Use a sharp knife to chop the lettuce, tomato, and bell pepper into small, cubed pieces. Set the lettuce and tomato aside you'll use them later on. To save time, you can chop the bell pepper first, then finish the other vegetables while you're waiting for the ground beef to finish browning in the next step. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef with a little cooking oil and use your spoon or spatula to break it into small chunks. After a few minutes, add the chopped bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until brown all over and no pinkness remains. This should take about five to seven minutes. When you're done cooking, there will be a little excess grease in the pan. Carefully drain this into a container that won't melt from the heat and toss in the garbage. Don't pour it down the sink this can clog the drain. In a pinch, you can also microwave ground beef for five to seven minutes, breaking it up and stirring at the three minute mark. Pour your bottled salsa directly into the pan with the drained beef and bell pepper. Stir well to combine. Do not attempt to drain the salsa or get rid of excess moisture. Let this mixture cook until it reaches a healthy boil. When you notice boiling, reduce the heat to medium or low. The boiling should decrease to a light simmer. Cover loosely (with a gap in the lid to allow steam to escape). Simmer at this heat for 10-12 minutes or until the mixture is pleasantly thick. Stir every few minutes. Keep an eye on the texture and thickness of your mixture to prevent burning. The cooking time here will vary greatly depending on the starting thickness of your salsa. Very liquid salsas may take the full 12 minutes to thicken, but chunkier salsas will be ready much sooner. When it's done, your mixture should be thick enough to hold together in a spoon without running over the edges. Take a generous pinch of your chopped lettuce and set it in the center of each plate. Spoon a helping of the meat/salsa mixture over this bed of lettuce. When each plate has a serving of meat over a bed of lettuce, sprinkle each with the chopped tomatoes, crumbled chips, shredded cheese, and the rest of the lettuce. Your easy taco salad is now ready to eat. This dish can be eaten with a spoon or fork, but you may want to serve it with additional chips or hot tortillas for a rustic "eat with your hands" experience.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Chop your vegetables. Brown ground beef with the bell pepper on the stove. Add salsa to the mix and heat to a boil. Simmer until thick. Layer lettuce and meat mixture on each serving plate. Top with chips, remaining vegetables and cheese.