I feel that Modern Family is really one of the better sitcoms happening right now. It is funny, smart and heartwarming all at the same time. I love the togetherness of the Pritchett clan but I also love that they aren’t perfect; they reflect a lot of what real life family is actually about.
One terrific aspect of the show is the portrayal of Ed O’Neal’s character Jay Pritchett as the cantankerous grandpa. Jay maintains his relevancy by surrounding himself with younger people-his grandchildren, his step children and even his wife! Because of this, Jay is able to maintain a perfect balance of salty old man, corny dad, and understanding grandfather which makes him one of my favorite characters on the show.
Jay’s place as the head of the family is demonstrated in a terrific episode called “Great Expectations” from Season One of the show. It is in this episode that Jay makes all the grandkids have a sleepover at his house. He calls it “Jays Night” (another reference to the fact that he has a young mentality-he didn’t call it Grandpa’s Night) . It is in this episode that we come across some yummy inspiration from Jay’s character, in his dish Sloppy Jays.
Now, of course this is a recipe for Sloppy Joes only with a name change. However, I did try to make the recipe match the character of Jay. It is simple, straight forward, and a no frills recipe. I think Jay would approve.
It is so simple because it only involves 3 ingredients, yes, three! As with any other RWE recipe, you can feel free to tweak it to your taste but this has been a recipe that I have used for over 15 years and its always a big hit at my house.
You start off browning some burger.
After the burger has been browned and drained you add the last two ingredients. Medium Salsa and Ketchup. I know, on paper it doesn’t sound wonderful but when mixed together into the beef it is better than any Sloppy Whoever that came out of a can. Seriously. You also save time from cutting and chopping by using the salsa because it is already in there. The salsa creates the spice and the ketchup balances with the sweet which also reminds me of Jay. Enjoy!
Sloppy Jay’s:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup medium Salsa (I like the chunkier kind but it’s whatever you prefer)
1/2 cup Ketchup
Hamburger Buns
- Brown hamburger in a skillet. Drain.
- Add the salsa and ketchup.
- Serve on buns.
