Spicing up that ol' lager

So as an income constrained brewer, I find it nice to brew up a cheap light pils/ale to drink if i want to have a bunch of beers. Usually I can get away with a $20-30 for 5 gallon batch. One thing I like to do to make this beer slightly special is to add a little bit of darker malt extract to give it some pizzaz (and actual flavor). So I was wondering what you guys make for your 'cheap' sessionable beer and what you guys do to make it a bit special.