So I went and bought myself a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface and a pair of Yorkville YSM5 monitors to use with my SM57. It's only a 2 channel rig but I'm focusing primarily on instrumental acoustic projects this year anyway and it works perfectly well for that. Pulling a Plank and sticking it out with Audacity. This is about as simple as it gets and I'm loving it, just enough bells and whistles to get the job done and nothing more.
Some of the tunes I've made with it so far:
https://soundcloud.com/epoch6/january-15
https://soundcloud.com/epoch6/december
https://soundcloud.com/epoch6/february-fingerstyle
I'm definitely in a better position to collaborate now so once I finish up some of the projects I'm working on right now I'll start begging you guys to get in on the action, or maybe try to sneak into your action.