Easy stuff with just ground meat:

tacos, buy the box kit and some shredded lettuce and a tomato or two

sloppy joes...can of manwich, buns. 1 lb of meat makes a bunch of them.

spaghetti...boil spaghetti, pour a jar of sauce in with the meat. Use 90% lean meat and there's not enough grease to have to bother to strain out. Doesn't have to be anything special for quick meal nights. Just get a good sauce.

patty melt....hamburger patties, saute some onions...stick them in a cheese sandwich.

Pasta kits like Hamburger Helper, Zatarins etc. We keep these on hand at all times. Everyone loves beef stroganoff kits. We have to make them 2 boxes at a time/2 lbs of meat though, they don't make a lot.
Even easier, tuna kits. No meat to cook and you can keep cans around forever.



Breakfast foods:

Learn how to make an omelet, if you don't know already. I make one, serve to someone, on to the next instead of making them wait. They suck when cold. Some shredded cheese, some bacon (get the kind that's already cooked, you just reheat in the microwave to save time and mess)...done.

You mentioned pancakes already. My shortcut: instead of making pancake after pancake, the first ones cold by the time you get done......everyone gets ONE plate sized pancake. They cook just fine, they aren't as dry this way and you're done quickly. Serve them as they get done. Just don't make it so big it won't fit your plates. There's a lot to eat, they usually don't even get finished. And mix up the batter in a large measuring cup instead of making a big mess. Easier to judge the water needed and easy to clean up.



Sandwiches
Even basic roast beef or ham sandwiches seem pretty special if you use buns or split rolls, put them together and lay them out, open, on a pan to broil for a few minutes in the oven. Meat, cheese, broil...done in 5 minutes total. Much better than a cold meat sandwich, but all you're adding is heat.


Salad night
If we do this, I have some small chicken breast fillets I throw on the grill. Takes just a few minutes to cook the small ones. Then cut into strips for the salads. Nice to have something hot on there and it's filling that way.