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I'm not in the mood for a big deal this Easter, so you'll find some lighter recipes here that caught my eye as well as ham and lamb hunks.

If your family that expects a new take, one of these might do the trick: Montana: Braised Lamb Shanks with Wild Mushroom Pan Sauce, Roasted Ham with Molasses, Bourbon and Pecans, or Herb-Roasted Goat, all at thedailygreen.com.

A traditional French recipe, Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb with Garlic Purée, from Paris Cyberchef Philippe Broad (culturekiosque) might tempt me to roast. Alt-choice: Roasted Leg of Lamb studded with Parmesan Cheese and Garlic at the Stamford News.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Toasted Almond Gremolata from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is pictured at right.

Marinated Aparagus caught my eye at the Beaufort, S.C., Gazette's Eastertime traditions recipes. For the even more traditional, there's Coca-Cola Ham, Roast Lamb Leg and Boiling Water Cake there too.

Following a different sort of tradition, Torta Pasqualina (Easter spinach pie), Torta ricotta e pomodoro (Ricotta and tomato pie) and Crostata piselli e gorgonzola (Sweet peas and gorgonzola pie) all hail from the same page at the Naples (Fla.) Daily News, which apparently takes its namesake older city seriously.

Spring asparagus soup with lemon crème fraîche at the Fresno Bee works for me.

Simple side dishes can liven up a holiday meal: Butternut squash gratin, Roasted spaghetti squash, Goat cheese gnocchi, Napa cabbage salad, from the Hagerstown (Md.) Herald Mail.

Classic Potato Gratin With Caramelized Onions accompanies Slow-Cooker Ham With Mustard-Brown Sugar Glaze ("Be sure to buy a ham that fits in your slow cooker.") at the Columbus Dispatch.

Leftover ham recipes at The Tennesseean offers 11 hammy recipes from the National Pork Board; White Bean And Ham Hock Soup With Arugula And Corn Bread Croutons could be a lighter way to pig out.

Cabbage Casserole from the Clueless Cook at the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal contains cheese and corn bread, and its contributor says it would go well with ham. Sounds frugal, too. (And more appealing than the Spam Quiche from the Chicago Sun-Times. I'd much rather have Boston.com's Passover matzo pie, made with ground beef or lamb and mashed potatoes.)

Penelope's Spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie in phyllo dough, is part of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's tour of Easter around the world. The spanakopita also includes eight eggs, feta, onions, dill, parsley and butter, and actually looks doable. Not a lot of ingredients, which is good since the frozen phyllo requires attention.

I tend to glaze over cake recipes -- good ice cream has more fans in my family -- so this might be dessert for us: Chocolate-dipped almond eggs from the L.A. Times.

When the egg hunt is over, you'll need this: Classic Deviled Eggs from the Grand Junction (Colo.) Free Press.

Latest: Vegetarian Easter recipes, corn bread and more lamb

Earlier: Homemade Easter basket treats to start making now

Last year's Easter roundup: Easter recipes from newspaper food sections (some links may have expired)