1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet and add half of the diced onion. Set aside the other half of chopped onion for garnish later. Cook for a couple minutes and then add in the ground chicken and spices.
3. Cook, breaking up the chicken into crumbles, until browned in spots and cooked through. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper and the water. Bring the water to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until most or all of the water has been evaporated.
4. Line the prepared baking sheet with an even layer of the tortilla chips. Spoon the spiced chicken mixture over the chips in an even layer, being sure to distribute it throughout.
5. Top the chicken with half of the shredded lettuce, half of the tomatoes, half of the jalapeños, and half of the remaining red onion.
6. Spritz everything with half a lime and then top with the cheeses, distributing it evenly over the chips, meat, and veggies.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until everything is warmed through and the cheese is thoroughly melted.
8. While everything is still hot, top the nachos with the remaining lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, avocado slices, and remaining red onion. Garnish with the scallions.
9. Drizzle the entire thing with the ranch dressing and juice the remaining lime half over top of everything. Serve immediately.

NOTES:

1. The spices listed in this recipe make up my favorite homemade taco seasoning mix. You can mix these up to meet your tastes. OR, when in a pinch, feel free to sub in a packet of your favorite store-bought seasoning. I’ve done this a couple times here and there with no shame!
2. Because this makes such a large tray of nachos, I usually halve the recipe as listed above. I’ll cook and season the chicken all at once, set half of it aside in the fridge, and proceed with the rest of the ingredients as listed, just halved. Because usually only two of us are eating this, it works best for us to break it up over a couple servings.