Newbie question on Standalone ATMega

Yes.
Need 16 MHz xtal, two 22pf caps, 10K reset pullup resistor, 3 0.1uF (100nF) caps, and 3 AA batteries for power.
All can be obtained from www.dipmicro.com pretty inexpensively with low shipping costs.

Maybe this kit with a couple of extra bits will do you nice.

On sale too.