In my eyes, Italian food has to be one of the most child-friendly cuisines in the world, in the same way Italian restaurants are very often the most child-friendly places to eat with little ones in tow.

Italian dishes feature frequently in my family meal plans. There’s the now staple penne with pesto or a simple tomato sauce, spaghetti with meatballs, crowd-pleasing macaroni cheese and homely lasagne. There’s pizza and calzone – both the homemade and from-the-freezer varieties. There’s gnocchi and minestrone soup and risotto. And then there’s the puddings – the ice creams and semi-freddo, the tirimisu and panna cotta.

So for our latest Family Foodies challenge, we’re inviting food bloggers to share their favourite family-friendly, Italian-inspired dishes. From the traditional and authentic to your own unique twists on Italian classics, all are welcome at our Italian-themed feast.

What will you bring to the party? 

Family Foodies entry guidelines

• You may submit any recipe on your blog that fits this month’s theme, new or from the archive, although there is a limit of three entries per blogger. You’re also welcome to submit the post to other challenges too. If the recipe is not your own, please give the appropriate credit.
• Send your recipe URL to me at bangermashchat-at-gmail-dot-com, including your own email address and the title of your recipe or post. The closing date this month is Sunday 31 May 2015.
• Display the Family Foodies badge (below) on your recipe post, with a link back to both Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash, as well as details of this month’s challenge.
• If you’re on Twitter, then please tweet your post to myself @BangerMashChat and Lou @Eat_Your_Veg and include the hashtag #FamilyFoodies. We’ll retweet all that we see.
• At the end of the month a guest judge will choose a winning recipe. The winner will be announced in a monthly round-up of all the entries. Winners will get to display a Family Foodie Winner annotated badge on their blog if they wish and their recipe will go through to the Family Foodies Hall of Fame on each of our sites.
• All entries will be added to the Family Foodies Pinterest Group Board.

April/May’s entries

1. Seafood Pasta from Eat Like You Love Yourself
2. Mushroom Pasta from Eat Like You Love Yourself
3. Mackerel and Chilli Pasta from Eat Like You Love Yourself
4. Gratin Polesano (potato & cheese gratin) from Bangers & Mash
5. Quick Tomato Sauce with Seaweed from Tin & Thyme
6. Minestrone Soup with Nettle & Smoked Cheese Pesto from Tortilla for Tea
7. Poached Pears in Red Wine and Spices from Bangers & Mash
8. Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake from Elizabeth’s Kitchen
9. Meatballs with a Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce from Eat Your Veg
10. Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cakes from The Baking Explorer
11. Tagliatelle with Chicken, Asparagus & Purple Sprouting Broccoli from Bangers & Mash
12. Apple & Custard Lasagne from Foodie Quine
13. Ethiopian Eritrean Spaghetti Zigni from Allotment2Kitchen
14. Italian Stuffed Peppers from Caroline Makes…
15. Tuna ‘Meatballs’ with Courgetti, Spaghetti & Tomato Sauce from Family Friends Food
16. Gnocchi, Tomato & Summer Veggie Bake from Eat Your Veg
17. Baked Carrot and Feta Risotto from Green Gourmet Giraffe