make some kickass sandwiches with some good meats, cheeses...
like beef pastrami and smoked gouda, or corned beef and provolone, with a side of some zapps kettle chips
frito pie is an easy winter favorite of mine
you can a decent pasta fairly easily,
buy some already made pesto sauce, grill some sliced chicken breast with some garlic, and some mushrooms, throw in some crushed red pepper
then mix that, the pesto, and the pasta all together.....yummy and not very expensive
try some spaghetti with meatsauce, but add in some sweet ittalian sausage and some grilled onions.
or maybe just get a sirloin steak, marinate it, grill it or broil it, have a side of rice/pasta/risotto, with some green beans
You can make easy food thats actually good, instead of mac n cheese (although thats good sometimes)