Savannah-Style Crab Soup

The original recipe called for whole milk and regular half-and-half, but I tweaked it to see how it turned out ~ yummy!

Yield: 9 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups clam juice
2 cups fat free half-and-half
1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
1/3 cup dry sherry

Preparation:
1. Place flour in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet; cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until brown, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.
2. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrot and the next 5 ingredients (carrot through garlic), and sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, black pepper, dried thyme, and bay leaf; cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle the browned flour over vegetable mixture, and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in clam juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until mixture is slightly thick, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in the half-and-half; cook 4 minutes. Stir in crabmeat and sherry; cook 5 minutes or until the soup is thoroughly heated. Discard bay leaf before serving.

This info will be a little different since I used all fat free half-and-half instead of whole milk and regular half-and-half:
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 151
Calories from fat: 30%
Fat: 5g
Saturated fat: 2.6g
Monounsaturated fat: 1.4g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g
Protein: 13g
Carbohydrate: 13.3g
Fiber: 1.8g
Cholesterol: 46mg
Iron: 2.2mg
Sodium: 835mg
Calcium: 112mg