How to build 2.1 HT?

I have a nice set of mains and a nice subwoofer. My former HT system consisted of a 6 year old Panasonic DVD player (which I won in a contest) with 2 channel output hooked up to a PC 2.1 speaker setup. Believe it or not, this worked really well. Unfortunatly, my Panasonic is dying and needs to be replaced. As you can tell, my HT is not something I put alot of effort into; however, I do have some spare components that may make my future 2.1 HT much better if I can come up with something.

I checked out some regulat stereo receivers but none of the very few that I could find came with a separate sub out which means I have to either attach the sub and mains to the same output or attached the receiver to the sub and then the sub to the mains. I don't think either of these setups will work best with DVD playback. Am I right?

It would be great to find a stereo reciever/amp that had a sub out.

Okay, so I'm finding lots of 5.1 reciever/amps available, some at decent prices. Can these 5.1 receiver/amps be setup for 2.1 playback using the sub out and two mains?

BTW, I would really not like to get a center channel or rear mains. My living is setup in such a way that wiring rear mains would be a major job. I want to keep this as simple as possible.

Thanks...