Scott,
Depending on the device, your best bet is start with a MSP430 Launchpad (several models are available), an IDE such as Code Composer Studio v6 (can be used for free with no limitation*) and a software package such as MSP430Ware (which contains both assembly and C routines, as well as libraries, etc.).
*The TI MSP430 compiler has a codesize limit of 16kB on the executable, but its C optimizer is fully enabled. However, you can also use the GCC MSP430 compiler with CCSv6 with absolutely no limitation.
Hope this helps,
Rafael