I curse you, nature.

I remember it well-

Last fall, I got the last of the clearanced-out daffodil and tulip bulbs at our local greenhouse. A total of 30 bulbs. I spent a chilly but sunny afternoon diligently digging in our front landscaping. I even put some in our front planters and covered them with mesh to prevent animals from scarfing them up.

Two nights later we got our first frost. I was pleased with myself for putting in the work that would SURELY lead to a beautiful scene come spring.

Umm, I'm still waiting.

And I'm beginning to think that the bulbs were dug up by squirrels? Rabbits? Deer?

It is maddening. It is frustrating. My only consolation is hoping that somewhere out there is a herd of deer with bouquets of daffodils popping out of their buttholes VERY UNCOMFORTABLY.

It's not all failures around here toady though. I've raved about Kodiak Cakes before and I've wanted to try making them into muffins. It wasn't until last week that I finally noticed (face palm) that there is a MUFFIN RECIPE PRINTED RIGHT ON THE BOX.

Wal Mart didn't have the buttermilk flavor in stock so I got cinnamon oat instead. We have some overripe bananas in the fridge so I deviated from the printed recipe. I noticed that unlike the buttermilk flavor, the cinnamon oat has added sugar. I chose to omit the brown sugar and double the banana instead.

The verdict? Super easy, and babies ate them up. I'll plan on freezing a batch of these and giving them to the kiddos as either breakfast or a late afternoon snack.

Banana Kodiak Muffins- makes six muffins
-2 overripe bananas, mashed
-1 egg
-1/2 cup milk
-1 cup Kodiak Cakes pancake mix (I used cinnamon oat, which had added sugar already)
(If using buttermilk flavor mix, add 2 tablespoons white or brown sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine mashed banana, egg, and milk until well mixed. Stir in pancake mix.

Line a muffin tin with paper wrappers or coat with nonstick baking spray. Fill muffin cups mostly full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate the leftover muffins- I find that muffins always taste better the next day after the flavors have really blended.

Per muffin: 145 calories, 25 grams carbohydrates (including 9 grams added sugar from mix), 2 grams fiber, 2 grams fat, 8 grams protein