Lamb shoulder is most often used for stewing, Woodie. Most recipes call for two pounds, more or less. So you should be OK. Alternatively, you can grind it, and use it that way.

Here are a couple of recipes:

Tagines are stews found throughout North Africa, but especially in Morroco, where a special cooking pot, also called a tagine, is used.

Tagine of Lamb with Pumpkin, Veggies & Fruit

2 lb stewing lamb, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 sm onions, coarsely chopped
salt
1 tsp cayenne
4 tbls vegetable oil
1 tbls turmeric
8-10 large tomatoes, peeled & diced
1-2 red chilies (optional)
1 tbls raisins
1 lb pumpkin, peeled & coarsely chopped (Butternut subs)
2 lb green beans, halved
Juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the meat, garlic, onions, salt, pepper, oil, turmeric, tomatoes and chillies in a deep baking dish. Mix well. Cover and bake about 45 minutes. Add raisins and cook another 15 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin, beans, and lemon juice, cover again, and cook an additional 1- 1 1/2 hours untio meat is tender. Serve hot with cous cous or saffron rice.

Source: A Taste of Africa

Throughout the Mid-east, ground lamb is make into balls and fingers and cooked like kabobs. I adapted one such approach to make lamb patties, which are served on a platform of sweet potato and topped with a yoghurt aioli. Here it is:

2 lb ground lamb
1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 large onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbls Baharat*
oil for cooking

1 cup yogurt
3-4 plumb garlic cloves, minced
1 tbls fresh mint, chopped, plus more for garnish

Sweet potatoes cut in slices about 3/8 inch thick and trimmed even.**
Brown Sugar
Olive oil

Combine meat with the parsley, onions, salt and Baharat. Scoop up double tablespoons of the mixture and shape into patties about a half inch thick. Cook over a charcoal fire, 2-3 mintues per side. Set aside to keep warm. Alternatively, cook in a skillet with just a film of oil.

Boil sweet potatoes until tender-crisp. Drain. Brush with oil, sprinkle with brown sugar, and pop under the broiler until sugar is carmalized.

Combine yoghurt with the garlic and mint.

To assemble, lay a sweet potato round on a plate. Center a lamb pattie on it, and top with a dollop of the aioli. Garnish with a small sprig of fresh mint.

*Baharat is one of many spice mixes endemic to the Mid-east. This one comes from the Gulf States:

1/2 cup black peppercorns
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cassia bark (cinnamon)
1/4 cup cloves
1/3 cup cumin seeds
2 tsp cardamom seeds
4 whole nutmegs
1/2 cup ground paprika

Put all ingredients except nutmegs and paprika in a blender or spice grinder. Grind to a powder. You might have to do this in batches.

Grind the nutmegs. Combine the nutmeg and paprika with the other spices. Store in an airtight container. If you can't find whole nutmegs, substitute 1/4 cup powdered.

**I really like consistent, uniform plating with this dish, so use a cookie cutter to make all the potato rounds the same size. This is not a crucial step by any means.

Lamb shoulder is also used for roasting. It's not quite as tender as the leg, but when we had a whole lamb to get through, as often happened, the shoulder was boned (bone removed) and spread with the same stuffing as for chicken, then rolled up, tied, and roasted. Delicious!

No recipe for the stuffing: just fresh breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, mixed herbs (sage, thyme, whatever), an egg and milk to bind it.

Lemon Lamb Shoulder
1.5kg boned shoulder or forequarter of lamb
1 clove garlic

Marinade:
1 onion, sliced
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup dry white wine

Combine marinade ingredients, mix well. Lay lamb flat, trim off any excess fat. Cut garlic into thin slivers and push into lamb in several places. Place lamb in a large bowl, add marinade, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Pat lamb dry, place on a rack in a baking dish, pour marinade over, bake at 200C for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 180C and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes, or until cooked, basting frequently with marinade during cooking. Serve sliced with pan juices spooned over.

This recipe should be perfect for the 2 of you. Just watch the cooking time since the recipe calls for a larger piece & halve the ingredients:
HONEY GRILLED SHOULDER OF LAMB
One 3 1/2-4 lb shoulder of lamb, boned, rolled & tied
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint or 1 TBL dried
2 TBL grated lemon zest
2 TBL lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place lamb in a glass dish. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over lamb. Cover & refrigerate several hours or overnight. Place lamb on a spit over hot coals. Grill 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until desired internal temperature. Brush occasionally w/marinade. Heat leftover marinade to boiling & serve over sliced lamb.~~Slice of Paradise NOTE: You don't need to cook this on a spit, just grill it.

Here's a good stew recipe from Craig Claiborne. I omit the turnips:
LAMB STEW (serves 4)
2 lbs shoulder of lamb, cut in 1 1/2" cubes
3 TBL vegetable oil
3 TBL flour
6 cups water
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, peeled & diced
2 TBL butter
18 small whole white onions, peeled (just use roughly chopped onions)
6 small whole carrots, scraped or 3 large, cut into quarters
1 medium turnip, peeled & cut into 1" cubes
18 small potatoes, peeled or 6 medium potatoes, cut up
1 lb freshly shelled peas
2 tsp chopped parsley

Brown the meat on all sides in the oil in a hot skillet. Transfer to a Dutch oven or heavy kettle.
Sprinkle the lamb w/flour & add the water, salt, pepper & tomatoes. Bring slowly to a boil, cover, reduce the heat & simmer 1 1/2 hours.
Heat the butter in the skillet, add the onions, carrots & turnip & saute until the onions are light brown.
Add the browned vegetables & the potatoes to teh stew. Cook, uncovered until the potatoes are tender, 30-40 minutes. 20 minutes before the potatoes are done, add the peas. Serve sprinkled w/chopped parsley.~~

Thanks for the recipes GL, Daisy and Ginger! We still have some of the leftover leg of lamb that I high heat roasted the other day (boy was that good) so I'm not sure when exactly I'll cook the shoulder, but I think it will be pretty soon. His lamb is terrific - I hope we are "gifted" again next year with some!

I usually cube or slice it for stews. This one is good for summer because it uses the yellow squash that everyone who grows them has in excess about now:

MOROCCAN LAMB CASSEROLE

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. lean boneless lamb
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, halved and slivered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. flour
1 and 1/2 cups lamb or beef broth
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 small yellow squash, unpeeled and cubed
1/4 cup lemon juice

Cut meat into 2 inch strips. Saute in oil until brown in large skillet; transfer to a 10-cup baking dish. Saute the onion and garlic in the remaining fat until soft.

Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the squash & lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meat in the baking dish.

Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Add the cubed squash and lemon juice; bake uncovered for an additional 30-45 minutes, stirring once or twice until squash is done. Serve with rice. Makes 6 servings

Notes: Although not authentic, I like to add 2 Tbs. of dry sherry to the sauce ingredients. My daughter substitutes 1/3 cup halved dried apricots for 1/3 cup of the raisins. Recipe can be halved just use a smaller baking dish.

If it's only 2 pounds max....it would qualify for my "lamb shoulder with summer veggies".
In a Dutch oven, brown the meat slowly on all sides ( like a pot roast) add a little fat to get it started but lots will cook out of the meat as you go.
When the meat is browned all over....dump off any fat remaining in the pot ( I use a le Cruset Dutch oven for this) and turn the heat down. dump in a good cup of dry red wine....scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan and start adding veggies.
Start with a good sized onion, sliced, and add 2 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced and some bell pepper...about 1/4th of a green one and 1/4th of a red one, one small zuchinni ( no bigger than a banana)...or a small egg plant...or some of both.
Then peel and slice 3 or 4 small tomatoes...I like romas....and add about 2 tsps fresh oregano ( or 3/4 tsp dried) and about 1/4 cup fresh basil....salt and pepper to taste and cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking to cook off some of the moisture....slice the meat and serve the veggies and juice over rice.
Linda C

Thank you Ruthanna and Linda. It's going to be hard to decide which recipe to try first.